The moment I activated the magic, torrents of a gaseous substance like a planet-wide amalgamation of countless hurricanes manifested and danced across the surface of an ocean-blue orb. The innumerable storms whirled and grew in intensity with each passing second, swiftly blocking out all but the slimmest slivers of the once entirely blue Ameliorating Spherule. Then, as if the temperature of the ocean world was leeched away, the orb grew cold as it rested on my palm. Though the chill did not threaten me with frostbite, it couldn’t have been more than a few degrees above freezing.
To my surprise, the chill seemed to flow into me as if I was suddenly connected to an intravenous drip, feeding chilled liquid directly into my bloodstream. The cold washed through me, and an instinctual part of my mind wanted to drop the glass sphere. The cold sensation swiftly reached out to every part of my body, causing my body to shiver even though the forest was pleasantly warm. When the feeling reached my head, it was as if the chill began funneling to a specific area in my brain. It was like having a headache without any of the debilitating aches. I was acutely aware as the icy liquid, most likely a stable form of mana, sufficed the area of my mind where lesser blood boil was stored.
Once the target was reached, everything shifted as if an endless drain was opened to lap up every drop of power greedily it could. As if the spell had become a black hole devouring a star unfortunate enough to venture too close to the singularity, the sphere’s magic was pulled to that minuscule location. Starting with the tips of my toes and then working up my body, the sensation receded and was replaced by the comforting warmth of the forest. As the last dregs were absorbed, my innate understanding of blood boil grew, forming new connections and pathways to better harness its power. The complexities of the spell expanded as if a single book of collected knowledge was suddenly multiplied into a trilogy. Lesser blood boil evolved.
The once-required gestures necessary for a successful spell casting grew more elaborate, and the arcane syllables needed to call the spell into the real world morphed into longer syntax strings. More mana would be needed to bring the arcane energy, though that was hardly unexpected. Once it felt like simply reciting a memorized poem while directing a small chamber orchestra, blood boil transformed into the recitation of a beautiful manuscript with eidetic accuracy while also conducting in front of a full symphony orchestra.
As the last vestige of flowing energy was drawn away, the swirling vortexes within the storm-infested orb stilled before changing from a faint blue to the hollow blackness of a dead world whose life had been drained away. Before my eyes, a series of small cracks fissured across its glassy surface before shattering entirely. In moments, nothing remained but the tiniest of fragments of broken glass before those, too, faded away, leaving not the barest hint the orb had been there.
Looking at Stella, I found her rapidly swiping a paw as if she was scrolling through a lengthy and invisible, at least to me, online forum post. She was using her Accelerator interface, and I had long since grown accustomed to her waving her obsidian nails in the air. She was most likely reviewing the changes to my spell.
Stella gave a curt nod as if satisfied with the information before abruptly flicking her paw. As she did, a System notification appeared before me detailing the gains of my newly improved spell.
[Blood Boil] (*Specialized*) A deluge of magical energy strikes into a target within 100 feet. The target is afflicted with the debuff “Searing Blood," which causes the victim’s blood to boil at a life-threatening temperature, resulting in traumatic internal injuries. After a time, the target's blood cools rapidly, and the debuff expires. The spell causes 250 (up from 125) plus 3n damage immediately and then every 6 seconds thereafter, where ‘n’ equals intelligence. Additionally, spell damage has a moderate chance to stun the target for 4 seconds each time damage is applied.
Cost: 300 mana. Cast Time: 1.0 second. Cool down: 1.0 second. Duration: 168 seconds (up from 120). Plus 10 feet maximum range, plus 25 base damage, and plus 1% additional chance to stun the target per spell level. Specialized Effect added, ‘Blistering Surge’ debuff.
‘Blistering Torrent’ - If the target dies before the spell expires, the target’s major veins violently burst outwards, showering all hostiles within a 20-foot radius in the victim’s boiling blood. Those enemies received 50% of the remaining unapplied damage divided among them.
Note – While the total damage dealt by the specialized effect cannot exceed the new target’s maximum health, residual damage is not sacrificed. It will instead be funneled to other nearby targets.
“I’m not sure if the slightly upgraded specialized effect was simply a result of the spell upgrading or if it were one of those rare chances the upgrade orbs can apply a new additional effect, though I would suspect we’d receive a System notification if that happened,” Stella commented, tapping a nail against the side of her cheek. “Either way, it means more damage will go around to other hostile mobs when your initial foe succumbs. I don’t envy anything unfortunate enough to get this sticky napalm on them, let alone the poor sod who suffered his blood being magma-fied.”
“It’s also nice we’ll see more enemies stunned every time damage from the spell ticks,” I stated, somewhat in awe of blood boil’s enhanced features. Doing some quick mental math, this single spell would be dealing nearly two thousand damage initially and then every six seconds after that. Dual casting it would…
“Oh wow,” I uttered, my eyes going wide. “Over five thousand damage per tick if I dual cast this bad boy!”
“It’s impressive,” Stella whistled. “Cast normally, over the entire duration, blood boil dishes out fifty-five thousand eight hundred and eighty-three damage. Whoa to anything nearby when blood boil kills. That’s a heck of an upgrade. So, what are you thinking of doing next?”
“I know we were talking about upgrading lesser ignite bones because of its ability to weaken an opponent’s accuracy,” I replied, albeit hesitantly. “Just as synaptic toxin is great against enemy spell casters, ignite bones helps against melee-focused enemies. Yet, I’m wondering if we should instead take another look at the spell due to be upgraded. Perhaps, even looking at something other than a damage over time spell.”
While my DoTs made up a significant portion of my damage output, I couldn’t help but think about how useful one of my direct damage spells would become if upgraded to average tier. Stella clearly knew what I was thinking after I made my comment, something she did with increasing regularity, and raised a curious eyebrow in my direction.
With a slight forward tilt to her head, she stated the obvious, “You’re thinking about chained lightning, aren’t you?”
“So, what if I am?” I asked defensively. The spell was spectacular and was my go-to once my DoTs were applied to whoever we were fighting. Sometimes, I even led with it. I explained as much to Stella, though she didn’t appear swayed.
When I mentioned that Fireball would also be a good candidate for an upgrade, she shook her head from side to side in annoyance.
“Let me stop you right there, chief,” she drawled. “I know you. This is all about chained lightning. Fireball is great, don’t get me wrong, but I see the same thrill across your face as you do every time you cast your twisting bolt of lightning.” She paused for dramatic effect while giving me a wide-eyed stare. “You are foremost a necromancer, don’t forget that. Every step of the way, you’ve chosen to focus on damage over time spells. I’d be negligent if I didn’t remind you about what you’re the best at. DoTs.”
Stella didn’t say much after her comment, and I felt she was ‘allowing’ me to come to the same conclusion by myself. She wasn’t wrong, but damn, did I love chained lightning. It would undoubtedly deliver even more destructive potential than it already did, but, as she reminded me, two of my three Hunter classes directly improved every single DoT I possessed. First, my tier one necromancer class decreased the chances of the spell being resisted, doubled the base damage, and caused the spell to level faster. Meaning more damage simply because it was who I was.
These spells were enhanced further when I chose to become a Wraith as my tier three Hunter class. With it, all of my DoTs had their duration increased by a significant amount. This bonus lessened as the spell tier increased, but even at the average tier, a forty percent increase in duration was impressive. It added to the total damage the spell could inflict. Average-tiered DoTs seemed to last two minutes on average, meaning as a wraith, it was increased by another forty-eight seconds on top, or an additional eight ‘ticks’ since the damage was applied every six seconds. Even if I only consider my newest upgrade, Blood Boil, the spell dished out roughly two thousand damage per tick, which meant an additional sixteen thousand damage was added because the spell lasted that much longer. Add the benefit to every single DoT I had, and the damage increase was extraordinary.
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Choosing a direct damage spell over a DoT simply didn’t measure up if I looked at it objectively. Every DoT I learned was made much more effective because of my class choices. Unless the upgrade of chained lightning added some incredible new property, a slim chance from everything we learned about the spheres, it wouldn’t have the same impact.
Stella saw my face when I reached the same conclusion as she had. She would never flat-out reject my desire if I still decided to use the orb on my lightning spell, but I appreciated her insight as I agreed with her. She was the expert, after all. Seeing a defeated look on my face, I truly wanted an improved chained lightning spell, and she offered me an olive branch. “If you really want to, go ahead and use it on chained lightning. The decision is ultimately yours. If you make that decision, you know you’ve got my support, but don’t forget, we can always look for a better version. Heck, we might even find one in one of these shops,” she stated with a smile while sweeping a paw out to tightly packed stores around us.
With a reluctant sigh, I nodded my head. Stella was right about which spell was the best candidate to be upgraded. It is better to focus on your strengths than make a potentially poor decision because of a simple impulse to do something different. Pulling out our last lesser upgrade orb, I settled my thoughts, focusing my desire to upgrade lesser ignite bones spell. This particular orb glowed a vibrant orange, unlike the earlier ocean blue. Regardless of color, the spheres functioned the exact same way, so there was nothing to worry about. As I triggered the magic held within the jeweled ball, this time, the orb grew hot to the touch. Like last time, it was enough of a chance to injure me but it was nonetheless close to that threshold.
A wave of heat inundated my hand before flooding the rest of my body as the magic took hold. As it ran rampant through what felt like every vein in my body, another spot in my head opened and began to draw that energy. Exactly like the miniature black hole from earlier. This time around, I wasn’t shivering as the enhancement did its work. Instead, sweat gushed from every pore in my body like I had hiked three miles in the middle of a desert. Before I knew it, every last drop of the burning heat was sapped to where ignite bones were imprinted in my mind.
With another wave of Stella’s paw, the new spell description appeared before me.
[Ignite Bones]. A burst of searing magical energy strikes a nearby enemy within 100 feet causing the target’s bones to become immolated and muscle tendons to begin disintegrating away. The spell causes 300 (up from 150) plus 3n damage immediately and then every 6 seconds until the spell expires, where ‘n’ equals Intelligence. Additionally, the target’s accuracy is lowered by 6% per spell level.
Cost: 200 mana. Cast Time: 1 second. Cool down: 1 second. Duration: 168 seconds (up from 120). Plus 10 feet maximum range, and plus 30 base damage per spell level.
Note – The severity of the accuracy penalty is dependent on the target’s level compared to the caster, as well as their Constitution attribute. As a result, targets significantly weaker than the caster will feel the spell's full effects, while stronger targets may be more resistant to the degradation in accuracy.
Before I could form a question about the last bit of information since there hadn’t been a similar note there earlier, Stella beat me to it. “I had the System add that last part. With your advancement in levels, I can see more behind-the-scenes information, and I felt this was relevant. The spell is definitely stronger, but it makes sense much stronger monsters may be less affected by the accuracy penalty.”
“I guess so,” I replied, unperturbed. Average tiered spells could reach a maximum level of thirty-five, so I thought it unlikely a powerful mob would have their accuracy reduced by over two hundred percent. “It's still a great upgrade, but again, sadly, no extra effect was added. Hopefully, we get at least one of these fantastic orbs to do it. On to our minor orbs…”
A thought entered my mind as I considered the noticeably smaller minor upgrade marble resting in my palm. This particular version had a touch of lime-green, but the color wasn’t what caught my attention. My eyes widened as I blurted out a question, hoping we hadn’t lost a valuable alternative. “Stell, please tell me we couldn’t have used a minor orb, then immediately follow with a lesser orb, effectively jumping a minor spell two tiers. Right?”
Even as I asked the question, Stella was thankfully already shaking her head. “No, you can only use one amelioration orb per spell. Sorry, I forgot to mention that, but don’t worry, you didn’t lose out on anything.”
I let out a long breath. Her words came as a relief as I hadn’t even considered trying to upgrade the same spell twice. If it were an option, I likely would have seriously considered turning minor regen into regular regeneration, which would be two orders of magnitude higher. Even at a lowly level ten, max for minor spells, regen was a lifesaver, literally. It wasn’t an option, so I exhaled my tension.
In a few short minutes, we upgraded minor regen, scent of decay, acidic bolt, and flamethrower to their lesser-tier equivalents. The green sphere went with regen, as it seemed fitting, while a dark green orb was matched with scent of decay, the yellow-tinted sphere was paired with acidic bolt, and, finally, the scarlet-red went to upgrade flamethrower. While the colors truly did not make a difference with the spell chosen, our choices felt appropriate in an odd sort of way.
Using the precious gems caught a fair share of attention from the people wandering nearby, but no one stopped to talk with us directly. Most had knowing smiles on their faces as they saw me using the orbs as, evidently, the devices were a commonly known and prized commodity.
To my disappointment, none of the orbs triggered the rare special effect which could add a unique effect as a spell upgraded. Yet, each transformation was noteworthy in its own way. Lesser regen, predictably, increased the amount of health restored, as well as increased the spell max duration, which was nothing to sneeze at. Scent of decay, which had a previously debuff maximum of twenty-five percent, was increased to forty and was easier to apply. Acidic bolt, one of my highest damaging spells early on, continued the trend. Last, flamethrower had the width and distance of the spell magnified, as well as increasing the massive amount of heat the gout put out. I wouldn’t dare test this particular spell anywhere near the city, I didn’t want to be banished after all, but I knew its effectiveness was relevant once more.
With two minor orbs held in reserve, I was satisfied with the increases in my most useful spells. We were that much closer to being able to fight against Duke on equal footing. Turning to Stella, I asked with a cheeky smile, “Ready to find some new spells?”
“Hell yeah,” was her excited response. Thus far, it has been a great day.
By the time we left the now famous Spell Alley, we had far less gold to our name, yet were all the more powerful for it. While most of the tomes revealed in our exploration of the many dozens of shops we visited, most focused on affecting nature, such as increasing crop yield, creating rainfall, or smothering fire. Still, a fair share was perfect for me, or at least three for Tallos.
You have found: {Tome of Minor Barkskin}.
You have found: {Tome of Minor Camouflage}.
You have found: {Tome of Minor Stalker’s Mark}.
For our friendly ranger, we purchased minor barkskin, which increased his skin’s natural resistance to physical attacks, and minor camouflage due to its ability to help him blend in natural environments. The last acquisition for Tallos was a fascinating tagging spell that left an untraceable mark on a single enemy.
Minor stalker’s mark, once applied, would increase any damage Tallos inflicted while also increasing his ranged accuracy as the magic of the spell pulled his arrows while in flight to the mark’s hidden location. The closer he was to his mark when he used the fascinating spell, the better the odds he could apply the mark to particularly sensitive areas. At long distances, Tallos could likely only land the spell, which had an incredible range of over a half mile, on an enemy’s torso. Yet, if he was far closer, he could place the mark on a forehead or even an eye. The magic didn’t guarantee the projectile would land there every time, but it increased the chances of it happening.
While Tallos was going to be unquestionably thrilled with the three spells, I just knew he would also be vexed when he realized how much time he would need to allocate to learn them. Of the three tomes, with the exception of the relatively narrow barkskin, the other two were twice as thick compared to the spells he already memorized. Unlike Hunters, everyone else in this world needed to learn spells the hard way. Still, with each spell, once he dedicated the long hours necessary to learn them, Tallos’ combat effectiveness would increase considerably.
For me, well, let’s just say I was quite happy with my gains.
You have found: {Tome of Lightning Bolt}.
You have found: {Tome of Piercing Swarm}.
While Tallos’ spells were all reasonably priced, these average-tier spells were far less, by quite a wide margin. While we passed on an impressive regeneration spell because of the price, these two I couldn’t. Affording them… well, that was an interesting experience. Digging deep into my bag of holding, anything not immediately useful to us or likely to be used in the near future was pulled out and laid bare. Exchanged for large sums of gold and silver, we bought the spells. In the end, we were left with a paltry sum of ten gold pieces. However, even that small amount should be more than enough for everyday expenses.
Slapping my hands together, with the lightning bolt tome shooting tiny sparks from my lap, I shot a beaming smile to my friend. “Let’s learn a couple of new spells,” I cheered before finding a bench at the platform’s edge. At my words, Stella flew down from her elevated position atop Ripley’s shoulder and hovered close to my side as we examined the hefty tome. It was massive and more akin to two encyclopedias stacked together with one large rune on its cover, shaped like, of all things, a lightning bolt. The leather-clad cover was rigid with numerous blackened scorch marks across its dark surface. Each imperfection looked as if the book had been struck by whole series of lightning strikes, which was likely exactly what happened as tiny arcs of electricity continued to flash across the aged leather.
With a mountain of information stored within the book, countless pages, I opened my mind to acquiring a staple spell known by all respectable wizards, lightning bolt.