[Erryn pov]
A breath… breathe girl breathe. There was a moment in which my thoughts merely stilled. The summer heat beat down on my fair skin - it was sure to burn within moments - though that was only if I did not care for it soon.
Yet I was not so vain as to overlook the lives of others. All to have looked pretty doing so. Irene… Irene on the other hand.
I looked her over. The way she frowned, casting a subtle spell. Using a precious spell slot on something so inane. It was not as if we didn't have plenty, enough for the journey at least.
But it was the principle of the manner.
Either way I looked to… to… the dragon. I had no other name for him, as he had not given me one. So I would wait. It was his decision. Not mine.
"Wait!" One person tried to say, yet I paid them no mind, none at all. I flashed a small smile and left. Hurrying from there and within the sand, in only seconds.
A spell name passed my lips. A mere first circle spell.
Reinforce
Least Physical Resistance
Least Acid Resistance
Least Agility
Mana Cocoon
Spell after spell left my mouth. My body glowed slightly for each and every word. For reinforce, it glowed yellow, same as with every resistance spell. But the last two were different. A spell to reinforce my agility, a nice green color.
And the last. Mana Cocoon, an off whitish blue. A spell many others would drool in jealousy to obtain. Yet it was with the faintest of talents that they clung to.
Maybe if they had let such ego's go. Allow themselves to debase themselves, as true researchers would, maybe then they would learn the secrets.
Yet rare was the Mage that found themselves so low. And as such they never had experience begging, much less asking.
I snapped my fingers, a small circle appearing over my fist. Even as I pulled a small wand from my sleeve.
It was made of some rare wood. I had inquired as to what it was. Yet the only answer among the many I was given, that made sense at the very least. Or wasn't some long winded answer about the tree's ancestry.
And the reasons why it fit me.
Well, there were few that were able to give such answers. That was why I found it so imperative to condense it down.
Truly I was the best teacher.
It was an Iron tree branch. A curious tree that grew within areas of high mineral content. Rather than feasting upon the soil and nutrients gained thus. This tree found nutrients in the iron - that it got its name from - and all the nutrients that it could give.
As such the wood was nigh unbreakable lest it be given to some barbarian. Yet I doubted they could do much more than twist it.
A smirk lit my face as I cast another spell. This one aimed to save that golem.
Gust
A rudimentary spell that any Mage would hide within the deepest confines of their closets. For they were the ones to give it such a name.
Even if Gust was appropriate for the effect, the name was not quite accurate. It was an extension of the psychic school. Not elemental, as the creator and other such gullible students thought.
But the effect could not be denied. For with skillful use, and a bit of tampering - knowing the enemy also helped.
It was mostly the latter that made this so deadly.
The giant centipede. Known for their acid and great strength. They were nothing when faced against a knowledgeable opponent, and many were given how common they were.
But that's besides the point. As this golem-mancer was not a part of such knowledge.
To others though, or to the more knowledgeable, there was a better way. One that disoriented the centipede. In a way that would give me more time to act.
I took one more breath.
The centipede, it was a species known for their habits of burrowing under the ground and attacking from vibrations it felt from those antenna's of its own.
So what would happen when a strong breeze hit those same antenna with enough force to knock them off of their usual course.
Of course it would roar with rage as it was essentially blinded. I smirked. This was exactly what I was looking for.
I had no other chance to show off to that dragon of mine. Any other, including that giant swarm of bugs, was one where I was too weakened to do anything.
All of my magic had been exhausted by then, all in an effort to…
I shook my head of those thoughts. There was no need to think of them.
Shock
Another spell. But this one was greater than the rest. Using the Mana Cocoon that I had placed earlier, it blazed with power. Blood draining from my face, my own mana using my very life to power the spell.
Mana Cocoon was esoteric for a reason, and highly sought out for the same reason too. Life replaced mana. Mana replaced life. That was the meaning of this spell and its brother too.
It would convert health to mana, slowly, enough that within the heat of battle. There would be no sign to find what had happened.
Only a massive burst that would drain enough stamina to supercharge the spell to the next circle. Or in the case of higher levels, to the next half circle.
And so with that stored power, along with the potent life that the elves held - and thus me - The air blazed with power. Sparking before being guided to turn the centipede into a shrieking mess.
Magic Missile
This didn't even need to be explained. For with the disorientation and the blow that the centipede had taken. There was no doubt that with this next spell, it would die, with no chance to retaliate.
And thus I turned my back, facing away from the newly created carcass that sunk once more within the sand, its own muscles failing it.
Burying it under thousands of tons of sand.