The next morning, Beck was up bright and early.
Mason had to pull him out and splash him with a bucket, but he was awake. Once he had gathered his weapons, he made a beeline for the Sheriff's office, rifle slung across his back and a pocket full of bullets. When he arrived, the Sheriff was once again asleep at his desk.
Beck just sighed and pulled the bullets from his pocket, placing them onto the stone surface one by one. Click, click, click, click. The human didn't move till the last of the shells left his hand, at which point he simply yawned and sat up in his chair. After a quick glance out the window, the Sheriff turned his attention to the four cartridges on his desk and the young man who put them there. "You look like shit."
Beck forced himself not to yawn. "I'll be alright. So, the bullets."
"Yeah, yeah. Anyone ever tell you how impatient you are, boy?" The Sheriff drew his own six-gun and popped it open, the barrel and cylinder rotating on a hinge. The cartridges in the gun all jumped from their places, only for the human to grab them from the air in one swipe. The smaller bullets were lined up opposite those for Beck's rifle, each a different color, and the weapon they were made for soon joined them.
With that done, he sat back in his chair before he started pointing at the bullets. "That one sets things on fire, that'n sends a spike a' rock shootin' from where it hits, that one freeze's stuff, and that'n'll push damn near anything back a good ways. Had a lotta fun figurin' that one out. Then this'n'll give anything you stick it up to a nasty shock, and the last'll pump out a whole bunch'a smoke." Red, brown, blue, white, yellow, and black.
When he finished, the Sheriff picked up the Spellgun once more and began to spin it on his index finger. "'Course, these work like a focus, too. Long as you've got the mana, you can put a spell together inside. Keeps it nice and contained, so you don't gotta worry about yer spell blowing up in your face. You ever had that, son?" Beck shook his head. "Good. Hope you never do. Hurts like nothin' else. Go ahead and load a bullet. I'll show you how most of our spells work."
Beck did as he was told while the Sheriff rose and walked around his desk, gun in hand. All six of his colored cartridges were still on the desk. He motioned toward the far wall. "Point and shoot, son."
The moment he pulled the trigger and the hammer hit the pin, Beck could feel as the surrounding mana was sucked in through the barrel of his gun, then condensed and shot out as a bolt of pure energy with an ear-splitting crack. Bits of stone went flying from the wall, and when the dust cleared, he could see a small hole where the projectile had hit. As he started to unload the bullet, he looked toward the Sheriff. "What-?"
The human just smiled. "That there is where just about all our spells start. The bullets hold a spell, but that ain't all they do. Even when ya don't charge em, they can still use whatever's around and make shots. So even if I use everything I got, and I don't have the time to fill em back up, I can keep shootin' for as long as I need. Really, though, that's mainly just so folk what can't use magic can use em."
To prove his point, the Sheriff raised his own gun and shot the wall, that same crack ringing throughout the single-roomed building. "It don't take much, once you know what you're doin'. Just watch what the bullet does. We should probably go outside for that, though."
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It took an hour of pulling the hammer and firing before Beck actually figured out how the thing worked.
As opposed to Ice Bullet's slingshot style of propulsion, the energy from the bullet seemed like it just went. There was no obvious cause for it to shoot out like it did, but as he kept looking deeper, he was able to catch glimpses of the process going on inside. Even still, it didn't make sense. The bullet drew in mana from the surroundings, caused it to spin incredibly fast, and then a small jet of mana was sent through the barrel, somehow causing the mana to excite itself further and launch itself through the air.
By the end of the day, most of which the Sheriff was gone for, he was able to replicate it with his own mana. The process was as mana intensive as it was mentally exhausting, meaning he had to meditate every hour that he kept it up. Still, once he got it, it was cheap as could be.
Mana Bolt (Basic) Cost: 1 Mana
"Good. First step on a long road. Now get up, we still got more to do." Beck groaned, but obeyed, using his rifle to help him stand from where he had been sprawled on the ground. "Now, I don't know if anybody told you this, but you're not gonna be able to use half the magic out there. On the bright side, the half you can use is gonna be stronger, and you'll pick it up quicker. Just a 'taren thing."
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Beck let his head fall back and groaned in frustration. He stayed that way a moment, then came back to the present. "Thank you. No one ever taught me anything about the system or magic, or much anything 'sides cactus farmin'. So its nice to finally have someone tell me things straight."
The older human just nodded. "'Course. Now, c'mon. I'm gonna teach you that freeze spell."
Beck couldn't stop the smile from forming on his face.
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The pair of them were on the lake when the sun broke the horizon.
Beck had learned the spell quickly, partially thanks to his familiarity with Ice Bullet; the change to Mana Bolt would've been subtle if not for the sheer amount of ice mana added to make the spell function. Now, instead of a bolt of pure energy, the projectile would cause ice to expand from wherever it hit. The system called it Constricting Frost, and that was probably a fitting name, but his first use for it was to cause a sheet of ice thicker than his arm to form on the lake.
It was as wide as he was tall, and he was currently on top of it, using [Shape Water] to propel himself around. He could've formed the thing with Shape Water without the mana expenditure, but it was more of a test for the sake of speed. There was also the fact that he had no way of knowing if he would ever be able to do it again, which may or may not have influenced him.
Regardless, the new spells gave him more than just offensive capability. The main purpose of Constricting Frost was to lock down an opponent, rather than kill them outright, making it useful for apprehending criminals and controlling a battlefield. Additionally, it seemed he had earned a bit of system growth as well.
[Mana Manipulation] has leveled up! +1 Intelligence It is now Lvl. 4!
The Sheriff had left to deal with his duties again shortly after he had started Beck on practicing the spell, and didn't return until shortly after the young man had returned to the lakeshore. "You stayed out here all night, didn't you boy? Go on back to your room 'fore your girlfriend comes and busts my door down again."
Beck opened his mouth to protest, but the human's withering glare silenced all dissent. And so, he silently gathered his things and went back to the Casino. Kenna was still in her room, but Mason had apparently gone to see the gnomes. "Clink?"
The big woman grinned. "Who else would he know over there?"
He inclined his head. "Fair point. Y'know, the Sheriff told me to come back here just a little bit ago. Said you'd bust his door down if I didn't." He chuckled at that. "Didn't even teach me what he said he would yet." The Sheriff's other comment scratched at the back of his mind, but they weren't anywhere near that close. She almost certainly didn't see him that way.
"What'd you do all day then?"
"Took the whole day learnin' a spell called Mana Bolt. Then the sun went down, and I learned a spell that, uh, went off of? Built on? Anyway it kinda took bits from Ice Bullet and shoved em into Mana Bolt, and now I can shoot somethin' and cover it in ice. System calls is Constricting Frost, and its the only one on that little table that doesn't say Basic next to it."
"So what have you been doing since then? I know you didn't take all night to learn that one."
He couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing the back of his head as he did. "Guilty as charged. I shot the lake with the spell and spent the rest of the night just ridin' around on it. Got goin' pretty fast at one point. What about you? We been outta the Ruin a while, and I got half an idea what Mason's been up to, but I ain't heard anything about you, sides bargin' in on the Sheriff the other day."
That earned him a smile. She flourished exaggeratedly, her hand finally coming to rest on her breastplate as she stuck her chin out. "While you two were off playing, I was making money."
"You went gambling, didn't you?"
"I went gambling."
"How much did you lose?"
She turned her head away and mumbled, "A lot..."
"Kenna. Please don't tell me you gambled all of our money away again."
She turned back to him, face contorted in mock offense. "How dare you, sir! I learned from last time. I only took..." She started counting on her fingers, "Twelve gold and fourteen silver."
Beck could only stare. "Kenna. Before we went into that ruin, I hade never seen three gold pieces in my life. Pa kept one hidden in the house in case things ever got bad, and the other was on some rich feller's watch on the train."
"I know, I know. But even when I was losing, it was just so much fun, and I only lost six gold! The limit for Copper Passes is fifty!"
"That isn't the point. From now on, no more than one gold if you're gonna go gambling. Anything you earn is all yours. But you only take that one a day, okay?"
The giant woman sighed softly through her nose. "Alright. That sounds reasonable. But you don't stay out all night anymore, okay? Not unless I'm there, too, at least."
A small smile grew on his face. "You got a deal. Now, if you'll excuse me, this is my second time this week that I've been up since the mornin' before, and I need to sleep."
"Rest well."
With that, he stood and made his way to his own room. As he shed his armor, weapons, and boots, the siren song of unconsciousness pulled at him. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he collapsed into his bed and immediately drifted off to sleep.
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Beau was having another good day. The kid was a fast learner. It took him a whole week to figure out Mana Bolt, but Beck was able to do it in just a day. Wyatt woulda been proud. He almost started reminiscing before a knock at the door brought him back to the present.
"Letter for ya, Sheriff."
"Who from?"
"Church a' Magir. Crow just dropped it off."
Beau sighed. Magir and his birds. He was never gonna be able to rest. The messenger handed him the letter, and he wasted no time tearing into it. The words printed on that tiny piece of paper almost made his heart stop.
"REPORTS OF INCREASED UNDEAD ACTIVITY IN AREA --(STOP)-- SUPPORT DISPATCHED --(STOP)-- DELOUK INCOMING --(STOP)--"