Chapter Sixteen: Refining the Fire

I sat on a flat slab of stone while Gwyn kept watch at the edge of the cavern, her ears twitching toward every drip of water or shift of rock.

Varashan stood with his back to me, silent, his longspear braced against one shoulder. Also on guard for more enemies.

We’d carved through the Steelclaws like they were almost nothing. But I wasn’t going to pretend I didn’t still feel every brush with death, every moment where I’d nearly slipped.

Even if the System had rewarded me for surviving them.

I pulled up my stats menu and allocated the points I'd gained since my fight with the Western Ruler. No hesitation this time, I was pretty sure I knew what I needed.

+30 to Health. I could burn mana for speed and power, but nothing replaced the raw survivability of not dying when hit.

+30 to Mana. Even with the importance of Health, my bond with Gwyn did reduce my Mana Pool by a lot.

+10 to Stamina. Neither of my current Skills used much Stamina at all. And my Class bonus to Strength every level had served to steadily increase my pool as I'd leveled. Still, Varashan had mentioned that I might come to rely on Skills more as time went on. Some preparation seemed smart.

+7 to Agility. My blade was only as fast as I could swing it, and dodging claws the size of claymores didn’t leave much room for error. Not to mention, each point of Agility drastically reduced the requirement to tier my physical proficiencies. I'd probably have to focus on Endurance soon, though, even with my new armor.

+5 to Acrobatics and Unarmed Fighting. With my Trailblazer perk massively reducing the cost to tier all proficiencies in general as well, there was no reason not to bring both of them up to Journeyman now that my Agility was high enough to make the cost truly negligible.

+4 to Grappling. Only because it didn't make sense not to bring it up to journeyman as well. I'd have preferred to increase my Spell-Attack or Spell-Control, but tiering those was still too far away a goal.

The moment I confirmed my choices, I felt them ripple through me. Like I’d just drawn breath after holding it too long. My body steadied, my limbs tensed with readiness and refined muscle memory. It wasn’t beyond dramatic. But it was definitely a really big boost.

[Congratulations! For reaching Journeyman in both Unarmed Combat and Acrobatics, while having Agility above twenty, you have been awarded the Quickstriker perk.]

[Quickstriker Perk [Un] added.]

[Perk Description: You move like smoke and strike like a coiled snake. (All Unarmed Combat and Acrobatics skills grant +1/4 Agility when in use during combat).]

[Congratulations! For reaching Journeyman in both Unarmed Combat and Grappling, while having Strength above twenty, you have been awarded the Stronghand perk.]

[Perk Description: Your grip is crushing, your punch solid as stone. Your strength lingers in every lock and throw. (All Unarmed Combat and Grappling skills grant +1/4 Strength when in use during combat).]

More perks... and with them more power. All of it realistically only possible thanks to my System rewards. Without [Trailblazer] I'd never be able to tier so many proficiencies at my current level. Without [Raging Sorcery] and [Warmage], I'd be forced to invest more into my spells to keep their power high enough to challenge the sort of enemies I was.

“Alright,” I muttered, tapping into the Spell-Forging menu. “Let’s make something useful.”

I had a few more Greater Bestial Shards from the Steelclaws. Enough to experiment.

First spell was easy to choose.

[Blood of the Phoenix] was great when I had mana to spare. But I wanted something cheaper. More reliable in a pinch.

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I recreated the spell it had once been, before the System had upgraded it for me:

[Spell created. Emberhide Recovery [2nd] added to spell-list.]

The healing was weaker, sure, but far more sustainable. I’d take that trade.

Next, I thought about something I could use in the dark. I didn’t want to be forced to use [Raging Blade] like a torch. It cost too much for so basic a use, even if my mana-regen basically counteracted its cost, I still wanted more mana and my hands freed up.

[Spell created. Fire Wisp [1st] added to spell-list.]

So I tried to forge a torch spell. Simple. Functional. Though made slightly more unique by the greater bestial shard used to create it.

>>

Fire Wisp [1st] – You summon a small Fire Wisp. The Fire Wisp can produce either enough light to light a small area around you, or up to enough to comfortably illuminate a small room. May also be used to light flammable objects on fire.

* Spell-Class: 1

* Mana-Cost: 5 Mana per minute. [(5 mana per minute)/Spell-Control].

>>

I cast it with a flick of will. A small orb of flickering flame spun to life above my palm. It drifted slowly up into the air, hovering like a curious firefly.

I smiled.

It was prettier than I expected.

“Want one?” I asked Gwyn, summoning another next to her.

She blinked at the wisp and swatted at it with a purr.

I grinned and summoned a third. I made it dance and swirl between my fingers.

Magic was really amazing.

“What are you doing?” Varashan asked, glancing back at me.

“Just playing with lights,” I said, “but I had a thought.”

I called on [Raging Sorcery] and infused the third wisp with it.

Its flame grew darker, more saturated with power. I willed it to drift out rapidly, and when it reached the center of the cavern…

Boom.

A crisp, bright blast rocked the space. Nothing massive. But clean. Controlled.

A slow smile stretched across my lips. “Huh.”

Varashan raised a brow. “You just made a floating fire mine.”

“More like a poor girl’s fireball. But yeah. One part torch, one part cheaper bomb."

“Clever.” He paused, rubbing his jaw. “You might consider rune spells.”

“Rune spells?”

“Explosive sigils. Traps. You place them and trigger them at will, or allow proximity to do so. I have seen mages use them to control the battlefield before. I feel they would suit you well.”

That sounded… actually perfect. "Let me try to make one?"

Varashan nodded.

I pulled up the Spell-Forging menu again and focused on what he described. Pictured what Varashan had described in my mind. The System responded.

I slotted in a Greater Mana Shard.

[Spell Created! Rune of Flame [2nd] added to Spell List.]

>>

Rune of Flame [2nd] – Infuse an explosive blast into a rune that you may either mentally trigger or set to trigger upon being approached.

* Spell-Class: 10 [Spell Attack + (1/4 Charisma + Fire-Manipulation), rounded down]

* Range: 20 feet

* Mana Cost: 30 Mana [(30 Mana)/Spell-Control].

>>

“Well, I've got one now. Feels like it'll be really useful," I smiled at him, thankful I didn't have to figure everything out on my own anymore. "Thanks."

Although, honestly, infusing my [Fire Wisps] seemed like it would be cheaper most of the time. Still, the Rune could come in handy sometimes I'm sure.

“It will,” Varashan confirmed. “Especially with whatever conversion spell you used with your light wisp before.”

“It's actually a perk. It's called Raging Sorcery,” I said. “It lets me detonate any fire spells I have and makes fire explosions hit harder."

He studied me closely. “A System reward?”

I looked at him. “Yeah. Any other advice?”

He considered. “Lady Anahara will have better advice for you. She might offer more insight as a mage herself. But, if I may, you may want to save some of your shards regardless.”

I blinked. “Why?”

“For alchemy,” he said. “Anahara can show you how to refine those into potions. Mana. Stamina. You wouldn’t believe what a good stamina draught can do for someone mid-fight. And I imagine a mana potion would be a boon to any mage as well.”

Now that he mentioned it… I vaguely recalled the System mentioning something about shard conversion.

I nodded slowly. “I’d like to learn that.”

“Good.” He adjusted his grip on his spear. “Now then. Shall we?”

“Where are we heading?”

“The Steelclaws,” he said grimly. “Their numbers have been rising. They occasionally tunnel into the city’s outer sectors. It causes… carnage. If we can truly reduce their numbers then we'd greatly aid the city. And you'd gain levels as well, I'm sure."

My new rune spell tickled at the edges of my mind. A smile tugged at my lips.

“And with your new rune spell,” Varashan continued, “we might actually make a dent in their hive. If we are tactical in how we attack them."

I rose to my feet, eyes glinting.

“Let’s go.”