Like a kid in a candy store, Oliver wanted everything. Well, almost everything. But not all the options fit his tastes and inclinations – like coconut, one of his least liked flavors of anything.
Still, he wasn't one to needlessly agonize over the choice.
The easiest choice was for ranged area of effect, or AoE in the gamer terms he was inclined towards. Fireball was the staple of mages and wizards in nearly every game he had ever even heard of, and for good reason. Fire was an excellent offensive element already, but making it a targeted explosion?
It was the obvious choice, though the others were tempting in their own ways. Except Chaos Bomb; that spell just sounded too unreliable or unpredictable.
Oliver couldn't help but smile as he held the Spell Tome in hand. Its cover seemed to shimmer in the light, the orange and red pattern dancing almost like real flames. It positively radiated a deadly beauty... And, looking at the description that the System finally gave him, he was convinced he had made a good choice.
Fireball Spell Tome: A grimoire used to teach the reader the spell Fireball. Single use. Requires Intelligence 20+ to use.
Fireball: Condense threads of fire attuned mana into a sphere before launching it towards the target where it explodes, dealing damage in an area. Range= 5 feet per point of Intelligence(95 feet). Area of Effect= 1 foot per point of Intelligence(19 feet) diameter sphere around the point of impact(walls and other obstructions my limit the affected area). Deals fire based damage to everything within the area, and has a small chance to set them on fire. Mana Cost= 40
Oliver's smile dimmed slightly at a single realization: his Intelligence wasn't high enough yet, being just one point short.
Make that two realizations, as he remembered that raising an Attribute to 20 would hurt... a lot.
He sighed to himself, knowing it couldn't be helped. Sooner or later, he would have to raise all of his Attributes to 20, so why put it off when having the spells would definitely help?
Aside from that minor hiccup, which he had the credits to fix, the spell was exactly what he hoped it would be. If anything it was better, as he hadn't expected it to actually set things on fire- though he could also see the drawbacks to that. Accidentally burning down a building while still inside it would definitely be a problem...
Eager to learn the spell, Oliver lay back and quickly opened to system window, spending the credits to raise his Intelligence. The pain was just as intense as when he raised Agility and Spirit, though worse in its own way. While raising Spirit he felt a strange, almost ephemeral pain like it was searing his soul. And with Agility, his whole body felt pulled and stretched like a rubber band...
But with Intelligence, it felt like his brain was on fire. And all he could do was clench his teeth and bear it.
What felt like and eternity later, but was really only seconds, the process was complete... And an idle thought struck him- despite having raised Intelligence several times since getting the System, he didn't really feel any smarter. Sure, his thoughts felt sharper and clearer. And sometimes it felt easier to make logical connections. And faster. But raising the stat didn't actually make him smarter. It was more like it raised the potential of his mind.
Not that he would complain about it. The effect was impressive enough as it was.
And it wasn't like he really understood what the System did to change him. He just knew that it worked.
Brushing aside the idle thoughts, Oliver excitedly grabbed the Spell Tome. It was time to learn a new spell!
Fireball Spell Tome
Estimated Independent study time required to learn – 2 years
Activate System Assisted Integration? (Cost: 10,000 credits)
Estimated time required for System Assisted Integration – 8 hours
(Yes/No)
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
While he wasn't a fan of being out cold and completely helpless for eight hours, Oliver knew this was worth it... Though he first locked the door, then barricaded it with furniture just to be safe. With the room as secure as possible, he reclined on his air mattress again before clicking 'Yes'. Then, everything went dark, though thankfully it wasn't as painful as unlocking the mana sub-attribute had been with his first spell.
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Not knowing exactly when the next salvage job would pop up, Oliver prioritized the control spell over the single target for being the next to be learned- if trouble popped up, he still had his guns after all. Having the area control would offer him other options, depending on the situation.
He was pleasantly surprised that he was able to get through both without interruption. And, while 24 hours unconscious wasn't ideal, he certainly felt well rested afterwards.
The choice of control spells should have been simple, yet at the same time it wasn't. He had easily ruled out the Haunted Mist spell, as he could only guess at what it did. Perhaps the mist obscured sight? And the haunted part... Maybe there were ghosts within the mist that affected the targets? It didn't sound like a bad spell, just not what he was looking for.
Web should have been the obvious choice... But Oliver had seen enough nature documentaries to have an idea of what Mad Monkeys could potentially do. At best guess, he envisioned the spell summoning a swarm of monkeys that would cause all sorts of mischief for the targets. Stealing weapons out of people's hands? Damaging structures? Actively harming the people caught within the spell?
All of them were possible. And maybe there were effects that he hadn't considered?
Web, on the other hand, was a classic spell from many games. It was likely that the spell would cover an area in sticky web, entangling the targets and limiting their movement... But would they still be able to attack while entangled? Or cast spells if they have magic? In most games, it was a possibility.
While they were very different spells, he could see the potential in both.
As curious as Oliver was about what sort of effect Mad Monkeys would have, the entire reason he posted the Bounties to begin with was to increase the level of his own safety... And taking a spell he was completely unfamiliar with and could only guess at the effects was not exactly the 'safe' option. Plus, if Web acted as he thought, it would provide him with a solid non-lethal option for restraining targets.
It may be easier to kill them, but he knew there would be times he when that wasn't an option... Or when capture was preferred.
Web Tome: A grimoire used to teach the reader the spell Web. Single use. Requires Intelligence 20+ to use.
Web: Weave mana into threads of sticky web to cover an area, entangling everything within. Range= 5 feet per point of Intelligence(100 feet). Area of Effect= 1 foot per point of Intelligence(20 feet) diameter sphere around the point of impact(walls and other obstructions my limit the affected area). Entangles people and objects caught within the area. Web strength is determined by the caster's Intelligence. Targets with a higher Strength have a chance to break Web's entangling effect. Targets with a higher Agility have a chance to evade Web's entangling effect. As the Web is a solid construct, it can be target by attacks and damaged or destroyed. (WARNING: Web is highly flammable!) Mana cost= 40
Oliver was pleased by his choice, its effects being basically what he had imagined. It lined up almost perfectly with what he knew from games- almost too perfect, which raised a number of questions in his mind. Were the game elements inspired by other Multiverse hopping mages? He knew it wasn't likely he would find the answer to that, but it was curious...
Speculation aside, it was definitely a good choice. Though, his last choice was by far the hardest...
For single target spells, he had a lot of good options- though most of them likely did the same thing, just with different elements. He hated having to reject so many of them, but they were just to expensive for him to really consider. Especially since he hoped to get higher tier spells later.
But, for him, there was really only one choice: Mind Bullets.
He didn't pick it just because it sounded cool, but for a very practical reason: it was a Psi technique. With three spells already, he knew he would have to carefully calculate his mana expenditure. But Mind Bullets used Psi, for which he currently only had Psi Blade. Not only did it nicely balance his Psi abilities, one melee and one ranged, but it allowed him to spread out his resource usage. And he would have a solid ranged option even when he ran out of mana, besides just his guns- which he couldn't guarantee would work in every Universe.
For all he knew, different Universes had different rules... And he wanted to be prepared for anything.
Mind Bullets Manifestation Technique: This technique will teach the reader Mind Bullets Manifestation. Single Use. Requires Willpower 18+ to use.
Mind Bullets Manifestation: Form and launch solid projectiles composed of pure psychic energy, dealing physical damage to the target. Has a small chance of causing a psychic shock to the target, resulting in disorientation or unconsciousness(based on target's Willpower). Range= 5 feet per point of Willpower(95 feet).
Oliver didn't reject all of the other claims right away, though, as he was heavily considering picking up another spell after the next Auction. Either Shadow Bolt or Sludge Bolt, he hadn't decided yet. Both offered elements he thought could be useful in the future... Though whether Sludge Bolt was poison or toxic, he wasn't quite sure. Maybe it was neither?
And maybe he wouldn't actually pick up either, but, for the moment at least, he was still considering them.
So, Oliver rejected the remaining offensive claims, and closed the other two claims completely. If he needed more spells, he knew he could get them quick enough. Just as long as he was willing to pay for them...
A knock at the door broke Oliver from his reflection, and Omi's voice brought a smile to his face.
“Friend Silk? I just wanted to let you know that we will be arriving at the next planet in twelve hours.”
Looks like he would be back at work soon... Maybe he would get a chance to test his new abilities?