Velora sat in her study room chair. It had been only days since the subjugation squad had chased the black dragon into the depths of the copper mines. Her skills had not grown from the battle, and she received no experience from the fight. She knew the dragon was still alive, yet everybody else seemed content with having chased it deeper into the earth.

Her mind flashed back to the hateful gaze of the black horror they had fought. It had been level 41 when they fought, and how it had reached such a level and size so quickly was a mystery to most of those she had questioned. Its dark skills and affinity may have played a significant part, however. The only further action that had been taken to deal with the creature was to eradicate the remaining ghouls and other corrupted prisoners in the dungeon. Most had been sent there to starve anyway, having committed crimes like rape or slavery. They would live for years down there, starving and growing weaker, before eventually succumbing to the dank caverns.

Velora may not have known the origins of the dragon’s rapid increase in power. She was not a beast researcher and merely dabbled in any research not pertaining to magic. She made a note to herself to look into calling an expert on beast and dragon-related matters, maybe someone from the army? She had trained herself with mana control and various other spell-altering skills making her a formidable war mage and earning her many accolades in the magic community. Despite her low skill levels, her abilities were versatile and powerful, giving her control over spells not commonly seen among mages.

Race

Level

XP/Growth

Stat Points

Human

72

4478/5338 [+1 /pd]

0

Strength

Vitality

Dexterity

Intelligence

73

133

73

381 + 20 (401)

Ability

Effects

Magic Caster [6]

You can learn and cast spells up to Tier [6].

Mana Sight [3]

You can see [Mana] as it flows around the world and within you. You can see the different [Schools] of magic and determine spell effects by sight. This skill is improved by [Intelligence]. Enhances vision by +[5%]/10 Int

Mana Manipulation [3]

Allows you to manipulate mana for the formation of [Spells] and other [Frameworks]. Speed of manipulation is greatly improved.

Scholar [2]

You can [Write] and [Read] very fast and have increased [Memory]. Increase learning speed of all written languages.

Meta Magic [4]

You desire for flexibility and power have led you to alter the framework of many spells. You find controlling the amount of [Mana] in a spell or framework significantly easier. You may exchange the [School] of magic in a spell or construct at will.

Maximise Magic [2]

You have learned to increase the amount of [Mana] in a spell making it more powerful while retaining most of its [Efficiency]. [Double] a spells mana cost and [Double] its effects.

Multicast Magic [1]

You have learned to cast the same spell in parallel. You can cast multiple instances of a spell simultaneously, based on concentration.

Identify [3]

Tells you the basic [Species] and [Level] of targets. Can appraise targets up to [50] Levels higher than you.

She was especially proud of her [Maximise Magic] skill. It was well known that mages could add more mana to spells to make them stronger. This practice, called upcasting, elevated the mana cost of a spell as if it had been cast at a tier higher than its actual tier. The problem with upcasting was that the mana cost increase was not linear—it more than tripled. For example, casting a tier-one spell with enough power to be a tier-two spell would make it more powerful but require over three times as much mana.

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Upcasting spells of varying levels did increase their power, but the returns diminished. The higher you upcast a spell, the less efficient it becomes in terms of the power gained relative to the mana spent. In this regard, her [Maximise Magic] skill stood apart. It did not rely on upcasting; instead, it provided a flat increase in power to her spells without demanding disproportionately more mana. It was highly prized for this exact reason and not easy to aquire.

Spell Name

Spell Tier

Acid Splash, Fire Bolt, Light, Mage Hand, Ray of Frost, Mould Earth

0

Absorb Elements, Burning Hands, Catapult, Chromatic Orb, Magic Missile, Mage Armor

1

Arcane Lock, Calm Emotions, Flaming Sphere, Hold Person, Misty Step, Scorching Ray, Enlarge/Reduce

2

Blink, Call Lightning, Counterspell, Fireball

3

Aura Of Purity, Wall Of Fire, Greater Invisibility

4

Far Step, Cone Of Cold

5

6

The only part of her training that had suffered was her repertoire of memorized and practiced spells. Spending so much time perfecting her metamagic and other skills had left her with fewer spells ready for immediate use. She could cast almost any spell if she had the formula in front of her and enough time to cast it, but only the spells she had memorized and practiced would be useful in combat.

As she sat contemplating, there was a knock at her door. She dismissed the glowing scroll that represented her status and waved a hand toward the large wooden door. It stood a few meters in front of her heavy wooden desk, currently still littered with papers and other sundries.

With a simple use of [Mage Hand], the door swung inward, revealing a messenger girl. The petite, brown-haired girl, wearing the academy’s student robes, paused for a moment as the door opened fully. The customary dark blue fabric of her robes became visible, and out of curiosity, Velora’s eyes drifted to the girl’s right sleeve, where two light-blue stripes of fabric had been sewn on. A certified second-tier mage.

The girl’s eyes fell to Velora’s shoulder, where her white research robes bore her rank insignia: three bands of silky green satin arranged decoratively on her right shoulder. The messenger girl hesitated briefly, processing the academy’s perhaps overly complex rank color system, before hastily bowing.

“Magus, I have a message from…”

She was interrupted by a sudden disturbance in the mana near the door. The girl took a nervous step back also having seen the dense ring of mana condensing before it widened into a hollow circle that began to fill with a sheet of dense purple fog. Velora let out a sigh and looked to the now partially obscured mage stood outside her door.

“Thank you Mage, I have the situation under control” The mage quickly nodded and did one last bow before turning and hurrying off down the corridor outside her room. Another use of [Mage Hand] and the door swung closed with a click.

She watched a hunched figure step out of the mist-filled portal in her study, the little old lady carried a long wooden staff, a large red gem set in a silvery metal bracket on the top, intricate wire and fittings securing it in a fancy cage.

“Regret not investing in vitality yet Master?” Velora waved towards a chair while speaking, her tone humorous.

The chair was heavy and the spectral hand she summoned trying to drag it made slow progress.

“Regret not having decent spells yet Apprentice?” The old woman raised her free hand and mumbled a spell “[Animate Objects]” and the chair proceeded to walk free from Velora’s mage hand and prance over to the old woman. It positioned itself for her to sit and made sure she was comfortable as she took a seat.

“It is about mastery, one spell can be made to fit many applications” her counterargument took on a defensive tone.

“Bahh, why not master many spells, your skills are powerful but you are slacking in your spell knowledge. You reached Tier 6 weeks ago, yet have you started studying to learn one, hmmm?”

Velora lowered her head, “No master, I was distracted by problems in the city”

“I’m sure such problems would have been solved much easier with a well-placed disintegrate” Velora groaned as this argument once again resurfaced.

“Disintegrate is not a spell that changes with school alignment, hence not affected by much of my meta magic. I would prefer to add an elemental spell to my repertoire.”

The two casters sat and looked at each other for a time before the old woman sighed. “You are free to pick and choose your own spells now but I would beg for you to consider the spell, it is powerful for its level and your other skills would synergize well with the spell.”

Velora remained impassive, in reality, she was considering the spell, but she was reluctant to just admit her other choices had been worse. When initially questioned she had vehemently defended her obviously subpar choices. As she sat in contemplation the portal behind her master stopped spinning and petered out of existence.

The elder mage spoke again, clearly trying to change the topic in a lighter direction. “I see you have been investing in vitality, you still have that lovely glow of youth”

She looked up to see the old woman staring at her wistfully. “I know I told you not to put any points into stats other than intelligence, but I’m glad you did, sometimes one needs to forge their own path.”

Velora smiled at the Magister, old and wise she was trying to cheer her up, in her own way. It was an unlikely pairing of master and apprentice, she had followed many of her teachings but had branched out into a very different skill path. The magister had focused on spell knowledge and mana capacity, trying to reach even more powerful tiers and have every more staying power. She had aimed for perfection, each spell she learned was trained and integrated with her skill to eke out every pint of mana for all it was worth.

[Human Lv92] Her master had not leveled in years, sticking to her research and teaching. From their spars she knew that her mana was practically inexhaustible by her own standards, she had never seen her master run out of mana during the course of training her. Even if she didn’t agree with this method, she still admired the woman, breaking the very forefront of research and high-tier spells.

“So Velora, tell me this business with the city then, what see you on your travels?”

____________________

Noe awoke, half-submerged in what felt like water. He had been roused by the sensation of his minions being extinguished, one by one. The steady trickle of energy and power they had been feeding him grew thinner and thinner as they were eliminated by unknown forces. Finally, the supply from his corrupted minions dried up completely. Though he still drew power and nourishment from the dominated but uncorrupted humans, it was less than a quarter of his previous intake.

He lifted his head, grimacing at the pain radiating from his damaged body. His scales burned, and his mangled lower left half throbbed with every faint movement. His recovery was slow—agonizingly so. The spell of that human mage had cut through his shadows and scales like nothing he had ever encountered before. The memory of the encounter filled him with dread. He could only hope she would not descend into the depths to find him.

Yet even as fear gripped him, anger simmered beneath the surface. He swore to himself that they would meet again. Next time, he would devour her mind, bend her to his will, and force her to reveal her secrets. She would aid him in exacting his revenge upon the humans. He would feast upon them, collect them, and grow so powerful that they would never dare challenge him again.

For now, though, he pushed mana into his scales, letting the black shadows of the cavern envelop and soothe his battered form.