The basics of Enchantment, by Nuhise
Enchantments are a physical manifestation of magic. They allow fixing spells into a tangible medium to give them permanence. This is achieved by engraving an array of runes into an object, either on its surface or as part of its structure.
The first is often used for basic enchantments such as the sharpness and durability enhancement applied to many blades. The runic arrays for those are simple enough that they can be taught and created without specialized tools. A blacksmith or tailor will often learn the basic levels of enchantment as part of their apprenticeship.
The second form of enchantment is much harder to achieve. It requires the enchanter to use spells to modify the structure of an object or gem. Each type of material supports different levels of enchantment and requires a different spell as well, requiring extensive study or research. The advantage of structural enchantments is their ability to handle exponentially more complexity than their surface counterpart.
Multiple arrays can be stacked on to of each other or placed in different orientations relative to each other. In combination with volumetric runes, the arrays can achieve complex results in a much smaller space. A preferred method of many enchanters is to create a supporting network on a base object such as a ring, bracelet, or amulet, and socket several gems inside.
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"Interesting?" Vel hugged me from behind and rested her head on my shoulder.
"Very," I hummed, "I'm getting a better idea of how it works." I waved my right hand to show the ritual bracer.
"I'm still a bit suspicious of this thing," Vel glared at it.
"I'd say it's part of a set and we're missing part of it. This is why I can't fully identify them, the mesh is incomplete."
"Makes sense, still suspect."
"You're suspect," I poked her in the ribs.
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Liscura Van-Niu
[Dark Elf]
Rank 3 | Level 48/60
25 SP | 10 AP | 5 CP | 0 AS | 2 Perks
The last day had been fairly productive in terms of resources. With today's brush with death, I decided to invest all my attribute points into health. As for classes … I decided to take advantage of the increased resources and pick a third class.
My idea was to keep leveling my two main classes in parallel and use the spare point every twenty levels to raise the third class. It was spreading myself further that I already was but the benefits of increased versatility were worth it. At least I thought so.
Psychic
Requirements: [Psychic Magic Affinity]
Description
The psychic has mastered shaping the power of their mind to reshape reality.
Bonuses
+20 Intelligence, +10 Spirit, +10 Mind
Core Skills
[Psychic Magic] [Psychokinesis]
Starting Skills
[Psychic Lore] [Spell Slots]
System Action
Increase Vitality from 46 to 56 (cost: 10 AP)
Cost: 10 AP, Left: 0 AP
Increase [Druid] to from level 6 to 7 for 1 CP
Increase [Magus] to from level 5 to 7 for 2 CP
Purchase Class [Psychic] at level 2 for 2 CP
Cost: 5 CP, Left: 0 CP
Confirm [Y/N]
I let the rush of my new class settle. It seemed the psychokinesis skill came with a degree of proprioception. The rush of information was orders of magnitudes lower than from my perception sphere and quickly settle into the background, my partitions handling the stream seamlessly.
I wanted to test my new toys but refrained myself, I still had some administrative work ahead of me. I smiled at the next announcement. It seemed I had gained an extremely useful skill as part of the Magus class.
System Log
Class Skill Unlocked [Multicast (I)]
Class [Druid] has 1 free skill purchase
Class [Magus] has 1 free skill purchase
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Class [Psychic] has 1 free skill purchase
I put my free skills in reserve for later. For the moment, I felt like my kit was well rounded. Instead I went on to perk selection. This time, I chose danger sense. The experience with the barbcat made me realize that there were things capable of taking me by surprise even with my near local omniscience.
For the second perk, I found yet another gem.
Danger Sense (requires [Improved Senses])
Gives advance warning of danger
Magic Projection (requires [Magic Perception], 3rd tier magic class)
Grants the ability to project spells a small distance away from the caster
Cost and cast time scale logarithmically with distance
Combined with multicast, magic projection was exactly what I needed. With it, I would be able to both cast a spell through an arrow and prepare a second spell to combo it with. Or I would be able to maintain a barrier and heal myself at the same time.
System Action
Gain [Danger Sense]
Gain [Magic Projection]
Cost: 2 Perks, Left: 0 Perks
Increase [Multicast (I)] from level 1 to 20 (cost: 19 SP)
Increase [Multicast (I)] to rank II (cost: 1 SP)
Cost: 20 SP, Left: 5 SP
Confirm [Y/N]
I rubbed my hands together. It was time to put all of those to the test.
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"What are you doing?" Vel asked with a puzzled expression on her face.
"Practicing," I cheekily replied.
"That doesn't explain why you have three books hovering in front of you …"
"Trying out Psychokinesis, the core skill of my new class."
"You picked a third class? Isn't that a bit much?"
"I think three is probably fine, more than that would pushing it. I still plan to focus on Druid and Magus primarily."
"Are there even enough hours in the day to study everything?"
"Mind partitions," I tapped the side of my head with a smile. "With meditation I can have one partition keep watch through the sphere and the rest work on magic."
Vel flicked a small bead of wood towards me. I caught it mid-air with psychokinesis.
"Show-off," she smiled. "Use one of these partitions to take care of me too."
"That, I can do."
We fooled around until nightfall where Vel took the first watch. I hadn't practiced dressing with my storage items so I played it safe and only removed my armor and boots. With a long day behind me, I dropped like a log.
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"Wake up sleepy, it's your turn," Vel gently kissed me awake.
I stretched in the limited space offered by the shelter and got out.
"Nothing?" I asked as I strapped my armor back on.
I hoped we could find a river soon, I was in dire need of cleaning the blood and smell off. Washing my head with create water was the best I could do on the go.
"Nothing!" She said and kissed me good night.
I perched myself on a nearby branch and activated meditation. The calm feeling washed over my mind and I settled into a comfortable position. I sent Alan on overwatch as well, two pairs of eyes were better than one.
There were several things I wanted to accomplish. The first was to explore the possibilities of psychic magic but I also wanted to focus on my existing arsenal. Most of my spells were single purpose, which made them good at what they did, but it also meant they were limited in adaptability. I wanted to consolidate them into more general purpose ones if possible.
For example, instead of having one touch spell for each element, I wanted to have one elemental strike spell that could express multiple elements. I didn't need multiple projectile spells of the same element either, one that can be shaped was enough.
I had a feeling that, as I went up in spell levels, it would become the standard. My number of spell slots didn't seem to keep pace with the increase in spell levels I had available.
System Log
Skill [Psychic Lore (I)] gained 13 levels (1 to 14)
Skill [Arcane Lore (II)] gained 14 levels (4 to 18)
Skill [Nature Lore (II)] gained 15 levels (9 to 24)
Skill [Metamagic (I)] gained 8 levels (8 to 16)
Skill [Spell Slots (Druid, I)] gained 9 levels (7 to 16)
Skill [Spell Slots (Magus, I)] gained 10 levels (5 to 15)
Skill [Spell Slots (Psychic, I)] gained 5 levels (1 to 6)
Skill [Mind Partition (II)] gained 6 levels (2 to 8)
Skill [Mind Acceleration (I)] gained 4 levels (16 to 20)
Skill [Logic Enhancement (I)] gained 5 levels (15 to 20)
Skill [Memory Enhancement (I)] gained 6 levels (12 to 18)
Forgotten Spells
[Water Shield (3rd)] [Water Prison (3rd)]
[Rock Tomb (3rd)] [Water Blade (3rd)]
[Earth Spike (3st)] [Flame Orb (6th)]
[Lightning Orb (6th)] [Ice Shard (6th)]
[Obscuring Mist (4th)]
[Healing Surge (3rd)]
Freed: 40 memory (6/78)
Updated Spells
[Lightning Orb (6th)] [Regrowth (6th)]
Cost: 3 memory (9/78)
Memorized Spells
[Flame Projectile (6th)] [Ice Projectile (6th)]
[Water Projectile (6th)] [Wind Projectile (6th)]
[Earth Manipulation (6th)] [Lava Creation (6th)]
[Water Creation (6th)] [Mist Creation (6th)]
[Elemental Barrier (6th)] [Rejuvenation (6th)]
[Swiftmend (6th)]
Cost: 66 memory (75/78)
Forgotten Spells
[Shock Touch (2nd)] [Cold Touch (2nd)]
[Scorch Touch (2nd)] [Shock Rune (2nd)]
[Chill Rune (2nd)] [Scorch Rune (2nd)]
Freed: 12 memory (9/53)
Updated Spells
[Arcane Dart (6th)] [Arcane Barrier (6th)]
Cost: 7 memory (16/53)
Memorized Spells
[Elemental Strike (6th)] [Elemental Trap (6th)]
[Elemental Explosion (6th)] [Arcane Beam (6th)]
[Arcane Armor (6th)] [Haste (4th)]
[Prism +1 (1st)] [Chain +1 (1st)]
Cost: 36 memory (52/53)
Memorized Spells
[Mind Barrier (3rd)] [Disruption Bolt (3rd)]
[Launch Object (3rd)] [Force Push (3rd)]
[Force Pull (3rd)] [Force Crush (3rd)]
Cost: 12 memory (12/54)
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I stretched as daybreak came. The night had been very productive. I felt a lot more confident in my new spells if we had to face a dangerous monster like the alpha barbcat again. Hopefully our performance would be less dismal next time.
Vel was still sleeping soundly with a goofy smile on her face. I wanted to do something nice for her and I had just the idea.
I pulled out a skillet and lit the fire stones underneath. I put a small amount of lizard fat at the bottom and waited for it to start sizzling. I dropped a bits of meat in the pan and cracked two eggs on the side of the pan. I used psychokinesis to hold everything up and stir the eggs. I crunched a bit of salt and dried herbs onto the cooking omelet and flipped it over.
The sound, and probably smell, woke up my girlfriend. With a flourish, I partitioned the dish into two bowls and added some fresh fruits on top.
"Oh my …" she whispered as she licked her lips, "you truly are the best love."