Traveling in a wagon for two months sucked. The first week was fine, but there was only so much one could do or focus on before the gentle rocking of the wagon, the now non-existent small talk, and the tortuous and frustrating study of magic took its rightful toll.
Lee released a small sigh as he flicked his eyes toward his opponents. While he enjoyed card games in the past, the card games he normally played were more along the lines of a TCG, not… Whatever mutilated and convoluted mish-mash of Texas Hold’em, Go Fish, and Rummy all thrown together into some unholy amalgamation this was. Needless to say, it was not his forte.
For one, he was sure Regina was cheating. He just couldn’t figure out how. Her emotionless face would have been a match for the best of them on Earth. Two, Kendri and Jeremy, both knew the ins and outs of this hellish game. They relied not on bluffs, but knowledge and skill. None of which he had. And three, his luck stat was obviously the lowest.
“I fold.” Lee threw his cards down on a makeshift coffee table they had set up at the back of the wagon. While it ruined any leg-space, it made it much easier to play games all together.
“I raise two copper.” Regina said without giving anything away. Her calm and cool demeanor was perfect for this game.
“Call.”
“Call.”
“Can I play?” Said Em, her excited face peering through the back flap of the slow trotting wagon.
Lee shrugged and gently moved the makeshift table toward the back entrance, causing the other players to rotate their positions around the wagon with naught but a pause.
“You can take my spot. I need a break…”
“And some more money too. It’s not fun when we play with imaginary coinage.” Jeremy mumbled.
“I hope you know I'll be more wealthy than your entire family lineage in a few days. I’ll remember this comment…” Lee left Jeremy with that ominous reminder as he hopped out the back to stretch his legs.
He wished he could say he missed the look Regina threw his way as he exited the wagon, but he didn’t. It was her job to protect him, and she took it very seriously. But she knew he needed time alone sometimes, and this was apparently one of those blessed times.
The past few weeks had been fruitful, but he’d drained his imaginative battery along the way. Yes, he had created many more spells. Some even synthesized, but doing so over and over endlessly was tiring. The fanciful excitement of magic had come and gone, and now it felt like a job.
Lee watched as Em obliviously joined into that hellscape of a card game with joyful glee. She would regret it later. He was glad the others treated her like a person, as in every single town, city, or village they had passed through, she had been shunned. It hurt him, and he knew it hurt her more.
He was glad to say that she was his friend, but even in his position of power, there was little he could do to sway the minds of others to such a large degree. The prejudice was rooted deeply within the lives of the people in Thexis, and he couldn’t blame them either. Already, they have had to stop to fight off a few groups of monsters or animals. To nobody's surprise, goblins were the main source of monster attacks, but the creature and animals were very unique.
Lee pulled out a new fur that he had added to his collection and admired the pristine white, gold, and black striped strip of fluff. When he had originally arrived on Pallesia, he had thought that maybe wolves or some other forestry creature would have been the most he would have to contend with… But a Tiger, Lion, and Zebra hybrid? That wasn’t on his list.
Tigzebralion Mantle - Common: The fur of a Tigzebralion. Useful for multiple sources of crafting.
The fight wasn’t really a fight, as Lee had sent a Spear of Eternity packed with enough mana to level a castle wall at the level three creature and exploded its head, the tree behind it, and whatever was past that in his fright. Regina had admonished him for his overzealous actions, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
The loot from the other fights was just some copper and silver coins, which he didn’t take a share of knowing about his incoming influx of wealth. He barely got any XP from the fights either, but he’d been watching as his XP rose and rose over the last few weeks with him not lifting a finger.
Level: 26
XP 8369/10000
He was close to another level, and every single day it looked like the XP increases were picking up in speed. Hopefully, those he had taught were teaching others and giving him a small share of their healing for his quest. He would hate to think that it just so happened that every single person he had taught was fighting for their lives and having to heal so much that this was the result.
The threat of the Healer’s Sanctum still lingered. He hadn’t forgotten, but the inaction from them caused him no end to his worry. Regina had told him that if they were to strike, it would be along the way to Felispar. Another poisoning was out of the question, according to her. If there was to be an attack, it would be a frontal assault. ‘Bandits’ of some sort. So far, nothing had been amiss, and he hoped it stayed that way.
Lee brought up the descriptions of all of his new spells as he struggled to think of any more. Some of them were already pushing it when it came to how ‘free form’ he could go. He kind of understood how people hadn’t created healing magic before him, with all of the prior knowledge that was required. While you didn’t need to be one hundred percent accurate, you needed to have more than the gist.
Renewal: Heal a chosen target slowly over time.
Heal over time: 4 HP per second.
Duration: 5 Minutes - Variable.
Cost: 7 MP + Variable.
Widespread Renewal: Create an area of healing at a designated location that will heal wounds slowly over time.
Heal over time: 2 HP per second.
Area: 30 foot diameter circle - Variable.
Duration: 5 Minutes - Variable.
Cost: 20 MP + Variable.
False Data - Life: Using Life mana, obscure the readings of HP on a given target. Any Skill, Spell, or Ability that estimates remaining HP will be obscured with a different value. Target will appear healthier than they appear. May be fooled by scrutiny.
Value: Variable.
Duration: 30 Minutes.
Cost: 7 MP.
False Data - Death: Using Death mana, obscure the readings of HP on a given target. Any Skill, Spell, or Ability that estimates remaining HP will be obscured with a different value. Simulates the target to that of a corpse. May be fooled by scrutiny.
Value: 0 HP
Duration: 30 Minutes.
Cost: 75 MP
Depth Pressure: Using Water mana, create a continuous, hyper-pressurized beam of water that strikes a target dealing damage. The damage will increase the longer the beam stays in contact with a given target.
Water Walking: Using Water mana, enhance the surface tension of a body of water to enable the surface to sustain up to sixty pounds of pressure per square inch.
You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.
Duration: 3 minutes.
Strengthening: Using Life mana, bolster the muscles of a target to provide them with a percentile buff to their strength stat.
Buff: Target dependant - 5-15%, based on muscle mass.
Duration: 5 Minutes
Cost: 7 MP
Reaping Field: Using Death mana, create a large area suffused with Death, sapping all energy and dealing a small amount of damage to all within its area of effect.
Area: 1000 sq feet - Variable.
Duration: 1 Minute - Variable.
Cost: 15 MP + Variable.
Sphere of Annihilation (Synthesized) : This Synthesized spell creates a sphere of aspected Void and Death mana. Utilizing Void Sphere and Reaping Field, materialize a sucking void that decays all life within, dealing heavy damage to all those caught within its area of effect.
Secondary effects: Small chance of causing instant death to those below a constitution of 20.
Area: 10 foot diameter - sphere.
Cost: 450 MP
Air Conditioning: Using Cold mana, lower the temperature of an area around a chosen target. May lower or heighten the humidity based on current climate.
Area: Variable.
Value: Variable.
Cost: 5 MP + Variable.
Hailstorm Blizzard (Synthesized) - This Synthesized spell uses Cold and Ice mana to create a wintery storm of hail and snow. Using Create Ice and Air Conditioning, rapidly change the temperature in an area and cause all humidity to turn into snow. Create a barrage of falling ice to bombard an area in hail, dealing damage to those struck.
Area: Variable.
Cost: 300 MP + Variable.
Minor Telekinesis - Using base mana, send forth a tendril of dense mana to grasp and manipulate light objects.
Manual Blinking: Disable the autonomous nature of blinking within a living target by targeting the medulla oblongata. Only one person may be under the influence of this spell at any given time. It can be willingly dispelled to cast again at a new target.
Duration: 1 minute - Variable.
Cost: 8 MP + Variable.
Howling Cyclone: Using Air mana, create a miniature cyclone of air reminiscent of a small tornado at a designated starting point. The cyclone will pick up all objects within its path, battering all within and disrupting line of sight. The end location may be moved during the duration.
Duration: Variable.
Armaments of Eternity: Create a physical weapon and a set of armor made of Glacial ice that can be wielded and worn comfortably for a single target. Others attempting to wield the conjured weapon will be dealt heavy damage. Those injured by the created weapon will feel eternity. Those in contact with conjured armor will be dealt heavy damage.
Duration: 5 minutes.
Cost: 230 MP + Variable.
As he finished reading, he noticed that his list of spells was growing slightly out of control. He would have to find a better way to organize his stat page later. With a random thought, he wondered what other mage’s stat pages looked like compared to his own.
Name: Lee Barnes
HP: 310/310
MP: 475/475
Level: 26
XP 8369/10000
Titles:
Genesis of Healing*
Miracle Worker*
Class: Miracle Worker.
Profession: Otherworldly Academic
In Magic's Favor.
STATS:
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 20
Constitution: 26
Wisdom: 30
Intelligence: 35
Luck: 10
Unused Points: 0
Skills:
Spells:
Abilities:
Skills:
Identify, Mana Sense, Stealth, Mana Manipulation, Speed Reading, Mana Dispersion, Medical Attention, Miraculous Return, Healer’s Beacon, Hidden Miracle, Alter Status, Dauntless Will, Antithesis of Healing, Life’s Guidance, Mana Infusion, Teaching, Spacial Spell.
Spells:
Basic: Earthen Strike, Gale burst, Wall of Winds, Orb of Light, Darken, Conjure Water, Blind, Swiftness, Water Wave Wall, Wall of Earth*, Aquavista, Musical Melodious Memory, Words of the Wind, Homing Light, Sonic Boom, Howling Cyclone, Depth Pressure, Water Walking, Minor Telekinesis.
Advanced: Mend Wounds, Icicle Spear, Touch of Remission, Purifying Light, Void Sphere, Bulwark of Ice, Death bolt, End of the Unwanted, Anesthesilosurge, Create Ice, Weave of Reflection, Renewal, Widespread Renewal, False Data - Life, False Data - Death, Air Conditioning, Strengthening, Reaping Field, Manual Blinking.
Expert: Glacial Cascade, Spear of Eternity. Mortality’s Embrace, Armaments of Eternity.
Master:
Synthesized 3/5: Drop of Life, Sphere of Annihilation, Hailstorm Blizzard.
Abilities:
Language Comprehension, Healer’s Touch, Hidden Cache, Arcane Synthesis.
While he wished he could have created a few more spells with more coverage, he thought his current list was growing to fill some of the gaps. What he really needs is some knowledge. If people were out and about curing curses, casting lightning bolts, throwing up barriers to block damage, and other completely foreign spells, he needed to learn what they knew. He had tried his best to understand what Em was talking about when she was explaining the concepts of her Weave of Reflection, but it was lost on him. He wished that it was just Em being, quite frankly, ‘shit’ at teaching. Not that he was much better…
Almost as if she could read his mind, he spotted Em glaring at him from the back of the carriage. He had gotten used to her ridiculous level of flexibility with her human half, so her twisted torso didn’t freak him out nearly as much as it used to.
“What? What did I do?” He asked, slightly wary of what he could have possibly done wrong. For all he knew, he was in the clear, but the unease her glare radiated was off putting.
“You can have your spot back. This game… it is not for one such as I.” Em said, easily swapping from a casual to regal tone halfway through her speech.
“No, no, no. I played for a long time and you just got to play. It’d be rude of me to jump back in so quickly. Carry on, I shall survive.” Lee waved his hand lazily in her general direction as he pretended to look busy sorting through his status.
He heard a tsk of annoyance, but he had won this small battle. Now, he just needed to win the war. If everything went according to plan, he wouldn’t be playing that card game until they reached their destination.
In a few days, they’ll arrive at Felispar, and he’d be swamped when that time came. Regina had said Meriah and Kooco had arrived and begun the preparations, and there was other news, but she wasn’t allowed to tell him about that yet. That conversation had gone swimmingly…
After sneaking a peak toward the wagon again, he spotted Em shakily handing over some copper coins to Regina like she was some school bully taking her lunch money, and he sighed.
“Allright, on second thought. My turn, Em.”
Em went from a damsel in distress on the verge of tears to a face full of smiles and relief as she quickly shoved her cards onto the table and scuttled a solid ten feet to the side to avoid the game at all costs.
The things you do for your friends…