014 | First Spells
HELPLESSNESS. GUILT. FEAR. DARKNESS… He was surrounded by only darkness. Then Vincent heard a voice in his mind. A familiar voice. Is that Aelius? He could not be sure.
“Light,” he said and followed the light. Then he felt a pull of his consciousness and as to where it would lead him. He did not know. But he felt… hope.
There he saw Aelius, sitting on a desk, surrounded by books. "Cassius. You're here. Good."
“Your Excellency,” Cassius muttered in surprise. What is going on? “Where are we?”
“The same space where we’ve previously met,” Aelius said. “Deep somewhere within the corners of your mind.”
He looked around. “The Aramdale’s library,” he muttered, looking at Aelius, who nodded in response.
Cassius then walked toward the Archon and pulled a seat before his desk with his chubby arms. Thankfully, if he's not inside his own mind, he would not have the strength to do so. “Has time truly stopped in this space?”
“Yes,” Aelius said and continued to write. "Only if you're here."
“I was under the assumption that Your Excellency has already left,” Cassius said. Albeit uncomfortable with having a person inside his mind, he dared not to anger the Archon.
“If you’re concerned if I can read your mind – I can't. The space fluctuated and disturbed me, so I called you out. Fluctuation of the mind means you are agitated in some way. It's a rare occurrence for someone like you with a solid mind,” said Aelius and finally looked up at Cassius.
Cassius nodded and pursed his lips, recalling his mom. His greatest concern was not Aelius' being inside his mind but rather the safety of his mom.
“Let me explain,” Aelius began. “When I enter your mind. I am not aware of your thoughts or feelings, nor am I aware of your other senses, including your hearing, your touch, your sight, or your––"
"I'm worried about my mother, Your Excellency," said Cassius.
Aelius stared at him, furrowing his eyebrow. “So, that's why," Aelius said and set aside his book. "Do you want power, Cassius?"
Cassius looked out through the window, but he knew the sun and the greenery outside were all just but an illusion created by his mind. "In exchange?"
"A favour," Aelius said. "But my favours do not come cheap. Often. It requires you to risk your life."
"I accept," said Cassius and looked at the Archon. Even he was surprised by his own determination. How uncharacteristic for him to even care.
A hush settled in as Aelius fixed him with his gaze. "Are you certain? Haven't you told me before that all you sought was rest?"
"After everything that has happened, am I simply to ignore it all?" asked Cassius.
"I suppose that's fair," said Aelius and summoned a parchment. Its texts were glowing. A magical contract. "Sign this."
Cassius' eyes widened in surprise as he read the contract. In exchange for one favour, he would receive five Aetheric Spells – the maximum amount of spells that sorcerers under the Grand-tier could engrave in their soul cores.
He understood that Aelius did not offer elemental spells because he would only unlock his attribute upon breaking through the third realm and becoming a High Sorcerer.
"Not just simple Aetheric Spells. But the very best. Do not be fooled by their simple names," said Aelius with a proud smirk. "While first and second realmers can only use Aetheric Spells, it doesn't mean they're weak. You will have options to engrave the best Aetheric Spells worth millions of Atharian dollars. Even Grands would salivate to have one of these."
Aelius added, "It takes forever for even an Archon to write these spells into spell tomes. So, don't think these spells are easy to procure – they're not. It cost me a lot to get them from my colleagues."
Cassius recalled common Aetheric Spells normally used by Novices and Sorcerers would include aether bolt, shield, temporary enhancement, leap, or telekinetic-esque spells like push or pull.
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However, what surprised Cassius was the realization that Aetheric Spells can also be Tier IV. His eyes were especially attracted to five particular spells.
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[Blink (Tier IV): Active. 10 seconds cooldown. This spell allows the caster to teleport a short distance, instantly moving them from one location to another in the blink of an eye. When the spell is cast, the caster disappears, reappearing in a new location of their choosing, up to a few meters away.]
[Vanish (Tier IV): Sustained. 1-minute cooldown. The caster can disappear from existence and freely move around but cannot use other spells. The cooldown triggers when the caster deactivates the spell.]
[Aether Absorption (Tier IV): Sustained. 1-minute cooldown. Caster absorbs the aether from the environment but cannot use other spells. The cooldown triggers when the caster deactivates the spell.]
[Heightened Sense (Tier IV): Sustained. 1-minuted cooldown. This spell infuses the caster's body with a burst of aether, triggering a heightened state of awareness and increasing their reaction time. The cooldown triggers when the caster deactivates the spell.]
Finally...
[Cooldown Reduction (Tier V): Passive. Reduces Spell and Cast cooldown by half.]
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Unlike Grands, who have a cast cooldown of three seconds, lower tiers have a cast cooldown of six seconds. This spell would practically give Cassius the casting cooldown of a Grand. In addition, it also reduces all his spells' cooldowns.
"Tier V," he muttered. "A peak spell... and you're telling me I can choose these spells? Sorcerers would wage war for just one of these." Then Cassius briefly looked away from the contract to think. "Even if I engrave these spells, I won't be able to use them until I become a High. No... Not even. Only Grands can engrave T-IV spells."
Then Aelius pointed at his chest. “You have a peak-rate Tier V soul core, remember?”
"But if I remember correctly from Hiram's memories, Lucius Crestmore has a Tier IV-rate soul core. But he couldn't engrave a T-IV until he actually broke through the fourth realm and became a Grand," said Cassius.
"Stop underestimating peak-rate soul cores, Cassius. It doesn't matter what realm you are in if you have a peak-rate soul core... you can engrave spells up to Tier V. A Tier IV rate core could not be compared to a peak," said Aelius.
Cassius began to think. If he did not have Hiram's memories, he would not have been able to stabilize his soul core and would have died. Then, he cultivated out of boredom and did not notice he was about to enter the first realm.
As a result, he was unprepared and practically failed to break through. It was only Aelius who helped him advance. Otherwise, he would have blown up.
"So, for people with peak-rate soul cores in the past who survived their birth and their breakthrough–" said Cassius but was interrupted.
"What breakthrough? They may have survived their birth, but there is no breakthrough if they didn't cultivate in the first place. You're the first to cultivate as an infant. As a result, your body couldn't handle the process of breaking through and was on the verge of blowing up," corrected Aelius. "You're supposed to start cultivating at the age of 10 to avoid that."
Cassius lightly slapped his cheek and nodded. "I see. Then I owe you, Your Excellency," he said with a smile.
"You do. If I'm not curious about your progress and your potential, and if you're not allowing me to remain inside your mind, I wouldn't have offered you a contract in the first place. After all, peak-rate soul cores only appear once in a blue moon," said Aelius with a grin. "So, are you going to sign the contract?"
Cassius nodded and signed the contract, "I'll choose these five then."
Then Aelius burst into a peal of laughter. "Smart. You've only chosen defensive and buff spells. But how about your offensive spells? Why not pick Aether Storm instead of Heightened Senses?"
Cassius smiled and shook his head, "Danger does not wait. Even without spells, I can fight – but not against High Sorcerers. At least, with these five spells, I can ensure my survival."
"I suppose that's fair. But be warned not to overuse these spells. They're practical, but remember you're still a Novice. You may be able to use them, but Tier IV and Vs are known to have killed their own users in the past. Including Grands and Sovereigns," said Aelius.
Cassius agreed and remembered how he watched Talia fight against two Grands through Hiram's eyes. She simultaneously used Tier IV spells, and while she did not die, she was far too exhausted and depleted of aether to be able to fight further. If not for Hiram taking the blow, Cyril would have killed her.
“But... wait... how can I use these spells?” said Cassius and looked at the nearby mirror, reflecting his infant form.
With a sigh, Aelius scratched the side of his beard. “Have you forgotten that magical artifact you’ve chosen for yourself? I assumed you picked it for when you require an adult form.”
“Yes, but the ring is missing,” said Cassius.
“Oh… I forgot to tell you. See that dot on your left pinky finger?” Aelius said.
Cassius looked, and there he saw what he thought was a mole.
“Just imagine it to expand, and it will fit right around your finger. Then you can use it,” Aelius said.
"Oh... right," he said.
Aelius then stood up from his seat. "So, are you prepared for the engraving process? It'll be painful."
Cassius gulped before meekly nodding his head.