4 Cheating in a dungeon without dragons
After accessing the danger, I found it the perfect opportunity to use my newest Ki-fueled ability.
[Focused Aim]
[- 1 KI POINT]
Yeah, I bet you'll never guess what it does.
I swiftly shot the undead right on its head between its eyes, before it had the time to properly spot me.
"UGH!" It screeched before dropping down to the ground.
Although I was not sure if it could get more dead than it already was, it was at least no longer moving.
A red bar suddenly spread over the creature's head showing its entirety being depleted.
{ZOMBIE'S HP: 0/100}
Its form remained motionless while I couldn't help but feel amazed it had gone down with one hit.
Fortunately, I've seen enough movies to understand where a "weak spot" of an undead would most likely be.
But I couldn't stare for long as other zombies began to rise, so I immediately went and retrieved the cross bolt lodged on its skull with a little difficulty.
I counted at least a dozen of them as I retreated to a better advantage point, but some of them seemed to have heard my footsteps and began moving towards my position, inspecting the body of their fallen companion.
Remembering some mechanics from a video game I once played, I threw my iron dagger over the horde.
The horde immediately began to turn backwards while growling, their heads cocked at odd angles and blank stares as they walked out of step farther away in the direction the weapon landed.
And so, I switched the already unloaded weapon for one loaded and began shooting the monsters' napes while burning through my small reserve of Ki
Luckily for me none of them had head protections, or aiming headshots would've been the least of my concerns.
I was able to kill at least six of them with ten bolts or less while picking and storing my crossbows in similar fashion to Reaper from Overwatch.
The remaining zombies then began to charge at me, no longer fooled by my previous stunt as I managed to slay at least one more before the swarm of foes reached my position, making shooting from such a short distance very uncomfortable for me.
Thanks to that inconvenience, I finally decided to Rage for the first time inside this Dungeon.
I then quickly blocked their feral strikes with my just equipped wooden shield, causing their weapons to dig deeply into the wood, barely grazing the padding of my sleeve.
"Damn! This either is the shittiest shield of the entire Seven Kingdoms, or these guys were much stronger than I gave them credit for." I cursed before twisting my shield arm and pulling the weapons out of the undeads' hands.
I thrusted with Flurry of Blows, with a regular sword that I got from the Red Keep armory, through one of the unarmed zombies, all the way to the back of its head.
{ZOMBIE'S HP: 0/100}
I followed it by pulling my sword out and thrusting it again and again, missing my last target this time and piercing the creature's neck.
At least I've managed to cut it's head off, or most of it, leaving it hanging by a thread of rotten muscles and ligaments.
Which somehow seemed to not be enough.
{ZOMBIE'S HP: 75/100}
*Smack!
[-10 HP]
I suddenly had my wooden shield slammed in by the monster's headless body, the strength behind the attack was enough to make me slide back at least a meter since I didn't allow it to knock me prone.
While I engaged in close combat against the remaining others, the one that recently just punched me was currently trying to straight up its hanging head.
The comical scene made me smile, remembering some old cartoons and pirate movies I recalled having once watched.
Immediately moving back, I used my shield to block the barrage of attacks from the ones still standing, before I suddenly noticed something charging at me thanks to my Mental Map.
I ducked down and rolled to the side, looking up only to see that it was another zombie that just tried flanking me, as it now fell over its almost headless kin.
Smiling as I got up from my roll and jumping on the corpses again, I started thrusting my sword down, aiming for their heads, over and over again with a vicious series of Flurry of Blows.
After getting rid of them, I pushed through the assaulting crowd and readied my blade while keeping thrusting high.
One of the rotten undead monsters tried to block my weapon with its hands, but failed as the blade poke through it and pierced it over and over again.
The last remaining one I decided to cut at its joints.
Catching my breath I watched as it laid there, twitching while I OBSERVED at its HP bar.
{ZOMBIE'S HP: 25/100}
I then looked at the finally severed head which was currently using it's jaw to try and get a bite out of me, with comical devotion.
It crawled open mouthed intending on finally biting me, but I simply crushed it into pieces under my boot and lowered the monster's health bar to 0.
{ZOMBIE'S HP: 0/100}
I sighed as I fell to the ground with my shield and sword by my side as my rage just ended.
Breathing slowly, waiting for my Stamina bar to replenish itself, I looked at the recent battlefield in front of me.
Inspecting the small meter that showed a minuscule progress in order to Level Up again.
But thankfully I was almost there.
'These monsters weren't even worth that much XP.' I thought disappointedly before attempting to manually pick up my loot. 'I can at least make use of their weapons. Nothing outstanding, but better than nothing, I guess.'
However, just then….
*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
More graves started to shake as I simply ran forwards with Ki-fueled Step of the Wind, not even paying attention to any of those rotted corpses that growled at me.
'Okay, I admit, I just jinxed myself right there. Next time I will just sneak by them and spare the effort.' I rant to myself.
{FOR MAKING AN INTELLIGENT BATTLE STRATEGY YOU HAVE GAINED +1 INT!}
'Not now!' I mentally shouted.
Despite that, I was genuinely surprised, I didn't expect something like this would improve my intelligence.
But like always, I wasn't one to look a gifted horse in the mouth.
From now on, It was plain obvious that things were going to get tougher, and if I wasn't forced to slay all the monsters, then I would simply sneak past them.
At least, I was already raising my Stealth Stat from just avoiding direct conflict.
Perhaps the same could be said by facing the horde of undead, but the benefit didn't compensate for the risk of dying.
Eventually, after reloading all the Crossbows I had stored, I spotted a hallway leading out of the big hall and went in, the hallway was also filled with graves carved into the walls, which made me very wary.
My Mental map was making my vision almost completely red because of the quantity of enemies around me.
Any one of them could just explode open and attack me, so I carefully and quietly walked deeper into the tunnel as it went deeper and deeper into the Earth.
An unofficial perk of being still a kid was that my small body granted me a considerable boost to my stealth.
In other words, I was hard to spot.
*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
But that didn't mean I was impossible to be noticed, so as soon as I heard something heavy fall over the ground, I immediately sprinted away with another use of my Step of the Wind.
Looking back, I noticed that some zombies were now even donning diverse sets of armor.
The least protected ones had Padded Armor consisting of quilted layers of cloth and batting.
After that came Chain shirts made of interlocking metal rings, worn between layers of clothing and leather. Giving modest protection to the Zombies upper bodies and allowing the sound of the rings rubbing against one another to be muffled by outer layers.
And finally Half Plates that covered most of the Zombie's bodies. Although it didn't include leg protection beyond simple greaves that were attached with leather straps.
All in all, it was clear to me that they kept to the theme of ancient First Men warriors, instead of the fully plate Armor that the Andals were so annoyingly enthusiastic of.
The main problem though was that all had some sort of headpiece protection which didn't go well with my below average aim.
And I didn't have enough loaded Crossbows to deal with them.
Yeah, I'm man enough to admit when I'm outmatched.
Putting more and more distance between me and my enemies after stacking my speed with my Action Surge and Rage, I heard even more loud noises.
*Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble! Rumble!
Won't lie, I was really shocked when all the graves began to explode all around me.
I knew I needed to escape, these monsters would likely be even stronger than those without armor that still gave me some trouble.
And I was proven right when a freaking fireball barely missed me after the tunnel made me turn right, but its explosive blast was strong enough to push me five meters into the air.
[-50 HP]
Fortunately, my Dragon scales prevented me from frying completely to a crisp and my Monk training allowed me to somewhat stick the landing, otherwise I'm sure the horde would've caught up and finished me off for good.
Yeah, not gonna die on this hill.
I did this tactic over and over again, reducing the encounters I had in the dungeon.
Always eating, drinking and resting whenever I could.
Going past some traditional traps, like the damn hidden pit trap filled with acid after another more easily noticeable ones blocking the narrow hallway.
Which completely destroyed my false sense of security.
Bear traps I just left alone, falling blocks and rolling balls that made me begrudgingly live my Indiana Jones fantasy and poisonous darts that I collected by simply using my Inventory window as cover.
Oh, and wired traps with hanging Wildfire Jars.
Not gonna lie, that one was a terrible crawling game for me.
After delving deeper into the dungeon for a few hours, I finally saw it.
At last!
I stood over the end of the tunnel with a smug smile on my face, trying my best to not jinx myself.
I knew, if somehow there were devs or DMs in this game, they would eventually patch this loophole of avoiding all their combat encounters in the dungeon or actively avoiding all the major traps.
But until then, I was ready to see what would be my reward for "completing" the dungeon of the Red Keep.
{YOU HAVE LEVELED UP!}
Smirking as I dismissed the floating window, I began examining the wall before me.
It was plain, bricklayer.
Nothing really special about it.
But then I noticed something unusual.
Around my head height was a small hand sized opening.
It was triangular in shape surrounded by old symbols, and just below the symbols were words carved out in the common tongue.
{TREASURE ROOM}
Peering into the triangular hole and attempting to see what was inside, it seemed that it was large enough for me to fit my whole fist in there, but nothing more.
Suddenly something glittered in the back of the hole, some type of white light.
'Is it really expecting me to put my hand inside it?' I questioned with a raised eyebrow, immediately stabbing the hole with my Iron Dagger.
After making sure it wasn't another damn trap, I thrusted my fist while Raging, hoping to lessen any unseen danger with it.
But instead of feeling a stabbing sting or crushing weight, something happened.
'Hum?'
The solid pieces of stone slowly started to rise up as the entire chamber was shaking.
I heard some type of whispers in a tongue I didn't understand at all.
Slowly the wall disappeared into the ceiling revealing a new chamber unlike the underground tunnels behind me.
It was circular with a large treasure chest in the center, though I couldn't help but to be in awe of everything around me.
Blinking in amazement as I slowly walked into the new chamber, the entire chamber was lit up by the many torches spread around the walls.
I didn't understand how this place actually managed to maintain itself, but I couldn't argue with the view of mosaic tiles depicting what looked like the three-headed red dragon and a giant map of Westeros that stretched across the chamber's top.
But the new source of light gave me a better view of the brick walls surrounding this chamber.
Six massive panels made of a singular piece of stone, on each one I could barely notice some ancient carvings etched on them.
Honestly, they all reminded me of the ominous Walls of Word that dotted the region of Skyrim, one of my favorite games by the way.
Approaching the first one, I could feel a certain pull leading me to touch the black stone, almost as if it was a magnet and I was made out of metal.
Once I gave in to my instincts, I placed my palm against the cold surface, and right then I felt a similar surge of energy that seemed to have lit up the carvings, finally allowing me to understand them properly.
'Abju…' I began reading when suddenly a window popped up before me.
[WALL OF BASIC ABJURATION]
{WOULD YOU LIKE TO ABSORB THE KNOWLEDGE IT POSSESSES?}
[YES/NO]
I was surprised, again.
I didn't know the panels were actually meant to be educational materials for me to properly understand Magic.
Sure, I almost expected to just receive outright something like a Dragon Shout or a spell, not the basic knowledge of how to make them.
Since I awoke in this world and noticed I had a Mana bar, I had dedicated myself to learn how to cast spells through my Draconic bloodline.
Sparks and thunder were awesome, but I wanted more.
The fact that I had some badass source of power that hailed from my mystical ancestry only served to make me even more desperate for any form of spell.
Snapping my fingers in order to produce a single spark, hoping for dragon dreams to hand me some long forgotten arcane knowledge or even reading through any book that even appeared to have the slightest information about magic.
But I suppose the Maester were effective in their goal of cleansing magic out of the world they were building.
The closest thing I came to magical effects were my titles.
My Dragon and divine ancestry, my rage, my reserves of Ki, Bardic Inspiration and Action Surge were nothing short of actual super powers for this world.
Oh, and the perks I got alongside the experience that came with all that work, were just as impressive.
But these panels before me seemed to symbolize my next step in my ascension to power.
Without a second thought I pressed "YES", causing the wall before me to glow gold before settling back to it's normal tone of colour, its surface no longer containing the arcane knowledge that had just been absorbed into my mind.
Thanks to the incredibly useful functions that my System gave me such as creating loot from nothing, allowing me to learn skill books instantly and obtaining a new passive skill as a result, I was slightly surprised that the carvings etched on the black stone were completely gone.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[ABJURATION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF ABJURATION.}
[The school of abjuration is all about protection and denial Magic. It is the school of anti-magic, with spells capable of countering and dispelling magic, or even banishing magical entities. Whereas other schools of magic produce their effects by bending and twisting magical energy, Abjuration is more about straightening it out and redirecting its flow. Specialists of the school of abjuration are called Abjurers, and these were the people one would call when they needed to banish some extra dimensional creature, close an extra dimensional gate or protect a location from magical spying. At their pinnacle, an Abjurer has access to higher classes of magical barriers, imprisonments and anti-magic fields. Arguably one of the most terrifying things a spell caster could come across, as it completely shut down any manipulation of magic. … Abjuration spells are protective in nature, though some of them have aggressive uses. They create magical barriers, negate harmful effects, harm trespassers, or banish creatures to other planes of existence. … The School of Abjuration emphasizes magic that blocks, banishes, or protects. Detractors of this school say that its tradition is only about denial, negation rather than positive assertion. Abjurers understand, however, that ending harmful effects, protecting the weak, and banishing evil influences is anything but a philosophical void. It is a proud and respected vocation. Practitioners of this school are sought when baleful spirits require exorcism, when important locations must be guarded against magical spying, and when portals to other planes of existence must be closed…]
Pulling my hand away from the now smooth stone, I walked towards the next panel and repeated the same action and felt the influx of vast knowledge to immediately take place inside my mind.
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[TRANSMUTATION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF TRANSMUTATION.}
[Transmutation Magic is all about change and using spells to modify energy or matter, whether that be turning lead into gold or giving oneself a pair of wings. Specialists in the Transmutation school are known as Transmuters. They are considered the smiths of reality's forge. Some are tinkerers, using their magic to create rare materials and use in their inventions. At lower classes, Transmutation can be used to repair and mend small objects or give targets the ability to climb walls like spiders. At its pinnacle, Transmutation Magic gives one the ultimate control over the form of a target, turning a creature into an object or into another creature, or even turn an inanimate object into a sentient creature. … Transmutation spells change the properties of a creature, object, or environment. They might turn an enemy into a harmless creature, bolster the strength of an ally, make an object move at the caster's command, or enhance a creature's innate healing abilities to rapidly recover from injury. … To Transmuters, the world is not a fixed thing, but eminently mutable, and they delight in being an agent of change. Wielding the raw stuff of creation and learning to alter both physical forms and mental qualities. Some turn people into toads and transform copper into silver for fun and occasional profit. Others pursue their magical studies with deadly seriousness, seeking the power of the gods to make and destroy worlds.]
'Bring it on! Next!'
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[CONJURATION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF CONJURATION.}
[Conjuration magic is all about bending space to one's will in order to move objects from one place to another, or themselves to another place. It's also about the power of creation, creating something from nothing. The basics of Conjuration have you create small mundane objects and moving things around or storing them in an extra dimensional space. The pinnacle of Conjuration magic are spells that allow one to negate distance completely and teleport across the world, or even across different planes of existence. If that wasn't enough one could even create their personal demiplane, completely shut off from the rest of the multiverse. Specialists of the school of Conjuration are named Conjurers, and these are the people one calls if they want to teleport across a great distance safely, conjure objects from thin air or summon an entity from another plane. … Conjuration spells involve the transportation of objects and creatures from one location to another. Some Spells summon creatures or objects to the caster's side, whereas others allow the caster to teleport to another location. Some Conjurations create objects or effects out of nothing. … As a conjurer, one favors spells that produce objects and creatures out of thin air. They can conjure billowing clouds of killing fog or summon creatures from elsewhere to fight on their behalf. As one's mastery grows, they learn spells of transportation and can teleport themselves across vast distances, even to other planes of existence, in an instant.]
'Why stop now? Let's go!'
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[ENCHANTMENT MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF ENCHANTMENT.}
[Enchantment is all about the mind affecting magic, changing a creature's mood or opinion of others. At lower classes Enchantment magic is all about altering the mental state of a creature, putting others to sleep or making them friendly towards you. It even allows you to go inside a creature's mind and completely rework or even delete its memories of events. As far as more offensive abilities go, Enchantment magic has spells that attack the mind directly, typically dealing psychic damage. At higher classes, Enchantment can gain more and more control over creature's minds. And at its pinnacle, it can completely eliminate free will and consent. Specialists of Enchantment magic are called Enchanters, generally known for being charming and convincing individuals. … Enchantment spells affect the minds of others, influencing or controlling their behavior. Such spells can make enemies see the caster as a friend, force creatures to take a course of action, or even control another creature like a puppet. … Practicers of the School of Enchantment have honed their ability to magically entrance and beguile other people and monsters. Some Enchanters are peacemakers who bewitch the violent to lay down their arms and charm the cruel into showing mercy. Others are tyrants who magically bind the unwilling into their service. Most enchanters fall somewhere in between.]
'Yup! Another great acquisition!'
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[EVOCATION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF EVOCATION.}
[Evocation is all about creating powerful elemental effects, like fire, lightning or ice. The effects of this school are all flashy and dramatic with a complete lack of finesse or subtlety. Specialists of Evocation are called Evokers, with a knack of wanton destruction and being able to create elemental destruction from a great distance. The progression of the Evocation is simple, the stronger one is the more dramatic the effect they can create. At lower classes one can create bolts of elemental energy or small cones to damage enemies around them. Eventually being able to create dramatic blasts that damage everything in the area it affects. At its pinnacle, Evocation can produce cataclysmic storms, devastating earthquakes and make meteors rain down from the sky. … Evocation spells manipulate magical energy to produce a desired effect. Some call up blasts of fire or lightning. Others channel positive energy to heal wounds. … Focus ones study on magic that creates powerful elemental effects such as bitter cold, searing flame, rolling thunder, crackling lightning, and burning acid. Some evokers find employment in military forces, serving as artillery to blast enemy armies from afar. Others use their spectacular power to protect the weak, while some seek their own gain as bandits, adventurers, or aspiring tyrants.]
'Absolutely awesomeness!'
[NEW SKILL ACQUIRED!]
[ILLUSION MAGIC - Lv 20 (0%)]
{HOW MUCH YOU UNDERSTAND ABOUT THE ARCANE KNOWLEDGE OF THE SCHOOL OF ILLUSION.}
[Illusion magic is all about deception of the senses, like phantom noises or hallucinations. This magic can not only be used to show things that aren't actually there, but it can even be used to hide things from perception. Illusion magic also deals with the creation of objects using shadow energy from the Shadowfell, and these objects are functionally real. Specialists in this school are called Illusionists, and they use their magic either for entertainment purposes, creating illusions to spice up a story, or they use their magic for espionage to frighten or fool others for personal gain. At lower classes, illusion magic can be used to create visual or oratory hallucination, or even make things invisible. At its pinnacle, illusion magic can create illusionary duplicates of creatures, which are partially real and capable of accomplishing the same feats as the original. … Illusion spells deceive the senses or minds of others. They cause people to see things that are not there, to miss things that are there, to hear phantom noises, or to remember things that never happened. Some illusions create phantom images that any creature can see, but the most insidious illusions plant an image directly in the mind of a creature. … Focusing one's studies on magic that dazzles the senses, befuddles the mind, and tricks even the wisest folk. Their magic is subtle, but the illusions crafted by their keen mind make the impossible seem real. Some illusionists are benign tricksters who use their spells to entertain. Others are more sinister masters of deception, using their illusions to terrorize and deceive others for their personal profit.]
'By the Seven!'
I simply couldn't believe everything that I was learning, and how fast this knowledge that would normally take entire lives for a regular person to even make sense out of a single school was being processed and stored inside my brain.
After gaining a basic grasp of the several schools of magic, I began to finally understand the concept of spells.
They were a discrete magical effect, a single shaping of the magical energies that suffuse the multiverse into a specific, limited expression.
In casting a spell, a caster carefully plucked at the invisible strands of raw magic suffusing either the world or their very being, pinning them in place in a particular pattern, setting them vibrating in a specific way, and then releasing them to unleash the desired effect—in most cases, all in the span of seconds.
Spells could be versatile tools, weapons, or protective wards.
They could deal damage or undo it, impose or remove conditions.
Uncounted thousands of spells have been created over the course of the multiverse's history, and many of them were long forgotten.
Some might yet lie recorded in crumbling spellbooks hidden in ancient ruins or trapped in the minds of dead gods.
Or a variation of them might someday be invented by someone who had amassed enough power and wisdom to do so.
Every spell had a class, starting with 0 and potentially growing exponentially, which was a general indicator of how powerful it was.
Currently, I could just barely grasp the prospect of third class spells, but actually performing them is not as easy as it might seem to be.
Manipulating the fabric of magic and channeling its energy into even a simple spell was physically and mentally taxing, therefore the importance of continuously increasing my Mana reserves and Mage points to activate Metamagic effects.
A cantrip was a spell, of class 0, that could be casted at will, without spending my reserves of mana.
Which was easier for me to come up with an appropriate formula to create a desired result.
Certain Spells could be casted through a ritual, which meant that the spell could be cast for no cost of my personal reserves of mana in exchange of requiring considerably more time to cast than normal.
Which led me to the Spells' properties of Casting Time and effective Duration, that could vary from instantaneously to even hours in both instances.
Not to mention the possibility of it also demanding that I remained focused and concentrated on keeping the spell working once it was casted, almost as if I was mentally performing complex mathematical equations.
What else?
Range and Target were self-explanatory, since they could vary from either on oneself or touch, to short or long range, and from a specific target to an entire area.
Components included…
Verbal ones, requiring the chanting of mystic words that weren't necessarily the source of the spell's power; rather, the particular combination of sounds, with specific pitch and resonance, sets the threads of magic in motion.
Thus, someone who was gagged or had its voice somehow hindered, wouldn't be able to fulfill the Verbal component.
Somatic, with gestures that might include a forceful gesticulation or an intricate set of gestures, demanding that I had free use of at least one hand to perform these gestures.
Though fortunately, Subtle Spell made it all trivial to me.
But the most annoying to deal with wasn't part of it, Material components, including particular objects like a spellcasting focus or ingredients, that could be either consumed or not by the spell itself.
After pondering about the logic of magic, I was presented with another window.
[PING!]
[SKILL BLOOD EVOLVED!]
[NEW TITLE ACQUIRED!]
[YOU ARE NOW A WIZARD!]
[MAGIC OF THE BOOK, THAT'S WHAT MANY FOLK CALL WIZARDRY. THE NAME IS APT, GIVEN HOW MUCH TIME AND EFFORT THEY SPEND POURING OVER TOMES AND PENNING THEORIES ABOUT MAGIC AS IF IT WAS A TYPE OF SCIENCE!]
*Do you want to unlock the deepest secrets of arcane magic? Do you want to level entire armies to dust with the wave of your hand? Or perhaps wield spells that let you control the very fabric of time and space.
*Wizards are supreme magic-users, defined and united as a class by the spells they cast. Drawing on the subtle presence of magic that permeates the cosmos, wizards cast spells of explosive fire, arcing lightning, subtle deception, brute-force mind control, and much more.
[FEATURE UNLOCKED: SPELLBOOK!]
*Your spellbook is the repository of the spells you know, except your cantrips, which are fixed in your mind. The spells that you add to your spellbook reflect the arcane research you conduct on your own, as well as intellectual breakthroughs you have had about the nature of the multiverse. You might find other spells during your adventures. You could discover a spell recorded on a scroll in an evil wizard's chest, for example, or in a dusty tome in an ancient library.
*When you find a written spell of 1st class or higher, you can add it to your spellbook if it is of a spell class you can cast and if you can spare the time to decipher and copy it. Copying a spell into your spellbook involves reproducing the basic form of the spell, then deciphering the unique system of notation used by the wizard who wrote it. You must practice the spell until you understand the sounds or gestures required, then transcribe it into your spellbook using your own notation. For each class of the spell, the process takes longer periods of time and has larger costs. The cost represents material components you expend as you experiment with the spell to master it, as well as the fine inks you need to record it.
*You can also copy a spell from your own spellbook into another book-for example, if you want to make a backup copy of your spellbook. This is just like copying a new spell into your spellbook, but faster and easier, since you understand your own notation and already know how to cast the spell. If you lose your spellbook, you can use the same procedure to transcribe the spells that you have memorized into a new spellbook. Filling out the remainder of your spellbook requires you to find again the spells to do so, as normal. For this reason, many wizards keep backup spellbooks in a safe place.
[YOUR TITLE "SORCERER" HAS LEVELED UP!]
[FEATURES UNLOCKED!]
[YOUR DIVINE SOUL HAS GIFTED YOU WITH TEMPESTUOUS MAGIC!]
*You can voluntarily cause whirling gusts of elemental air to briefly surround you, immediately before or after you cast a spell of 1st class or higher. Doing so allows you to swiftly fly up to 3 meters in any direction.
[YOUR DIVINE SOUL HAS GIFTED YOU WITH STORM AURA!]
*Once a day you can choose to emanate a stormy, magical aura while you rage. Which extends 3 meters from you in every direction, but not through total cover. Depending on the environment surrounding you (arid desert, rainy sea, or snowy tundra) your aura's effect causes different effects. *Desert: All other creatures in your aura take Fire damage as long as they remain inside your aura or until your rage ends. *Sea: All other creatures in your aura take Lightning damage as long as they remain inside your aura or until your rage ends. *Tundra: All other creatures in your aura take Ice damage as long as they remain inside your aura or until your rage ends.
[YOUR DIVINE SOUL HAS GIFTED YOU WITH THE WRATH OF THE STORM!]
*You can thunderously rebuke attackers by wielding the power of the storm with unchecked ferocity. When a creature within 2 meters of you that you can see hits you with an attack, your counter attack with a melee weapon or fists causes Lightning and Thunder damage. You can use this feature a number of times equal to your Sorcerer and Monk titles stacked together, twice the cost if you attack first. You regain all expended uses when you finish a short rest.
Just then, all the windows closed, as a big part of me was blown away with the first results of my adventure.
I couldn't wait to get my hands on first class spells to finally feel my affinity with the air and fly, or to Rage in appropriate environments in order to ooze my Storm Aura.
However, right now, raising my fists, I could feel the presence of Lightning and Thunder suffusing my reserves of Ki.
The Lightning came in the form of sparks in between my fingers that reminded me of a stun stick taser, and the booming energy of the Thunder pulsed on my palm feeling like it could deafen someone with a mere clap.
Now finally looking at the giant chest in the middle of the chamber, noticing that its hinges were featuring distinctive rippled patterns, unlike any other common type of metal, I recognized that it was glimmering with a magical light.
It was Valyrian Steel, I recalled seeing it in one of the links on Pycelle's chain.
But before my hand moved to opening it, I shot my last loaded crossbow at it.
*Clank
The bolt bounced off, but the chest remained still.
'Heh, I had to make sure it wasn't a Mimic.' I chuckled recalling my traumatic experience playing Dark Souls.
Stepping forward and bending down, I placed my hands on it with a bowed head while opening it.
My shadowed face brightened because of the light reflecting back from the chest interior.
But as I got a closer view of the content inside, I saw a shit ton of golden coins, with two crossed short swords, some books and two bottles, respectively with red and green liquids.
Using OBSERVE at the red liquid first, I saw…
{POTION OF ULTIMATE HEALING}
{A POTION THAT COMPLETELY RESTORES THE DRINKER'S HEALTH BAR}
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
And…
{POTION OF ULTIMATE STAMINA}
{A POTION THAT COMPLETELY RESTORES THE DRINKER'S STAMINA BAR}
Just as great in order to prevent me from losing health in the first place!
Next, I picked up the weapons.
One had its blade colored as a bright tone of milk and the other a dark tone of coal.
These swords, which I suspected were created by the Game System, had the exact shape of the historical Roman sword known as Gladius.
Excellent for thrusting, losing only to the Rapier-like swords used in Braavos on that specific matter.
But certainly made it up for it with better slashing capability.
Nothing like a Falchion, mind you, but still competent enough.
And to add wood into the fire that was this coincidence, the Gladius had the same pattern of the chest hinges.
No, they also had some type of inscriptions, something close to the ones carved on this chamber entrance.
Are these enchanted? Or whatever variation of magical equipment it might be called here.
Stepping back from the treasure and inspecting the weapons, I noticed for the first time something more in its cross-guard, grip and pommel.
They were bare, except for a single metal band laced around it.
They both had a simple design, but with millions of tiny symbols etched into their surface.
Different from the ones on the hilts, these symbols weren't shining.
They were simply carved in the metal.
Picking the twin weapons up and looking them all over, they didn't have a single blemish on themselves, in fact the swords looked like the two had just recently been crafted, without a single smudge of dirt on them.
When I looked closely at the runes etched along the metal and tried to understand what they said, a window popped up.
{SELECT MAGICAL EFFECTS}
{KNOWN MAGICAL EFFECTS: NONE}
Well, that certainly was a bummer!
'Wait a minute! Does it really mean I will be able to equip and unequip Magical Effects on the fly?' I suddenly realized. 'Hum…Need to keep it in mind!'
I had just gained several tools that would provide me a considerable edge not only in combat, but also in pursuing my endgame goals.
20,000 gold coins, two Valyrian Steel weapons with the prospect of magical effects, potions and motherfucking spell knowledge!!!
'Jackpot!'
A sense of accomplishment came into me, as I felt proud about this, not caring at all if what I did was considered cheating or not.
I've been down here risking my life for basically the entire night.
{QUEST COMPLETED!}
{EXPLORE THE SECRET TUNNEL USING THE MAP YOU FOUND!}
{REWARDS: HIGH TIER LOOT}
Great!
Couldn't wait to start building my own spellbook.
Not that I actually needed it, given that I was born as a Sorcerer.
However, the benefits of extra XP were worth going the extra mile.
But for now, a bath and a good sleep for the first time in years were everything I wanted.
=================================
TITLE: Durrandon Baratheon (Sorcerer-Lv5/ Barbarian-Lv3/ Monk-Lv3/ Bard-Lv2/ Fighter-Lv2/ Wizard-Lv1)
Level: 8 (1%)
HP: 80/80
SP: 160/160
MP: 8/8*
MAGIC CONTROL:81%
SORCERY POINTS: 10*
BARBARIC RAGE: 3
KI POINTS: 6*
BARDIC INSPIRATION: 2
ACTION SURGE: 1
ALLEGIANCE: The Iron Throne
PWR: <15>
END: <17>
MOB: <17>
INT: <20>
STL: <17>
DEF: 45* (Dragon Scales: Magic +25% Damage Resistance)
POINTS: 16
SKILLS: ~open list~
PERKS: Player's Body/ Prodigy/ Mental Map/ Player's Mind/ Sleep is for the Dead/ Inventory
FEATURES: ~open list~
TRAITS: ~open list~
TIME PLAYED: 5 years
MONEY: 20,000 Golden Coins/ 400 NC
($) {MARKET}
=================================
Quickly climbing the stairs higher and higher until I reached the top platform that led me to another door.
I pushed the door forward impatiently as if I was getting without air to breath.
It was hard at first, I had to really struggle to push it open since the door was pure stone.
As I peeked to the other side and made my way, I noticed I was in the throne room again.
And I also noticed another thing, it was already day.
Distancing myself from the stony door, I heard it closing the chamber from all.
My Mental Map radar caught something approaching me, I had someone coming for me.
Shadow was there waiting for me, just as I left her.
Its ears twitched while approaching me.
"Hey there girl! Sorry for taking my time, but I did tell you to not wait for me." I chuckled before scratching her head.
Storing away all of my gear and deactivating my Dragon scales, I readied myself to take a bath and face the day without sleeping once again.
But I heard someone calling for me as soon as I stepped into the middle of the throne room.
I turned only to be met with the sight of Lord Hand, Jon Arryn, resembling an older version of Liam Neeson as he walked towards me, guarded by some Baratheon and Arryn soldiers and accompanied by a little girl with a darker tone of skin.
I used OBSERVE on him in order to keep leveling it up.
{JON ARRYN, THE HAND OF THE KING}
{Lv- 39}
Just then, I stopped before reaching him.
"Good morning my Prince, up so early?" The Hand began.
I then looked up at him and replied, trying to not laugh at the awkward situation. "Yes, I had to finish a few tasks before morning ended."
Can't believe I've fallen victim to "The Office Handshake meme".
"Is it so? What a commendable effort from your part. I believe I must thank you for helping my daughter in her studies, her improvement is beyond notable. She's even helping me with my job from time to time." The Hand replied calmly before smiling at me.
"Don't mention it! She has been a great friend to me." I replied, really considering having Alysse persuade her father to work on one of my ideas for the Capital city.
The Hand of the King nodded. "Good to know. But my gratitude still remains. Do come visit us whenever you are free. My little girl would really enjoy it."
I faked a chuckle before remarking. "I'm humbled that you regard me so well. I'll certainly find a way of visiting you two as soon as I can. But if you will forgive me, I must be on my way."
"Of course, my prince." Jon Arryn nodded in agreement and began to walk past me, followed by his small retinue.
But as he and his followers were about to leave my sight, I turned back and used OBSERVE on the girl I haven't seen yet.
The girl stared daggers back at me, with long raven hair with a few strands of silver, I was greeted by the unexpected revelation.
{RHAENYS TARGARYEN, THE WARD OF THE CROWN}
{Lv- 15}
Oh, that's certainly…new.
—————————————————————
A couple of weeks later.
Winter had just entered its harsher and coldest part.
Come to think of it, my generation had experienced it much more than our parents and grandparents ever did in theirs.
Regardless, I found myself standing in the middle of my bedroom chamber, surrounded by a loose collection of notes scrounged together that I had filled with annotations in regards to my recent experiments with Magic.
And in my hands, I had everything summed up in my personal Spellbook, with several blank pages for me to continue adding more spells I came up with in the future.
Currently it simply was a plain, functional leather volume, but with time I planned to upgrade it into a finely bound gilt-edged tome, with some decorative flourishes and margin notes that I will undoubtedly add accordingly as my Arcane understanding grows.
With luck I might get to plumb again an archive of ancient knowledge similar to the one on the dungeon under the Red Keep.
But until then, I had my hands full with the newest discoveries that I've made.
To begin with, I would like to introduce my very first Spell, from the Transmutation cantrip.
{THAUMATURGY Lv - 4 (98%)}
{TRANSMUTATION CANTRIP: You manifest a minor magical trick that novice spellcasters use for practice. You create one of the following magical effects within range and some variation of them: You cause harmless tremors in the ground. You instantaneously cause an unlocked door or window to fly open or slam shut. You instantaneously clean or soil an object no larger than 1 cubic foot. You instantly chill, warm, or flavor up to 1 cubic foot of nonliving material. You instantaneously repair a single break or tear in a non magical object you touch, as long as the break or tear is no larger than half a meter in any dimension. You establish a magical line of communication with a creature within range and whisper a message. The target, and only the target, hears the message and can reply in a whisper that only you can hear.}
CASTING TIME: INSTANTANEOUS
DURATION: 1 MINUTE
RANGE: 35 METERS
COMPONENTS: VOCAL, SOMATIC AND MATERIAL (TWO LODESTONES AND A SHORT PIECE OF COPPER WIRE)
Coming from the Greek words "thauma" and "urgy", Thaumaturgy means "marvel-work".
Spiritualists of the past, who claimed to be able to speak to the spirits and ghosts of the beyond, would use sleight of hand and simple tricks to create illusions to deceive and thrill their audience at a seance or theatre.
But even in the modern day, people believed and paid for such services in haunted houses or in the homes of a psychic.
Since this was the very first spell I came up with, I confess I was a little too enthusiastic about finding ways to use it.
Here are some of them…
Harmless tremors might help deceive others that an army was approaching, make it appear that a cave was about to collapse or convince a town that a great tragedy was about to befall them (like a dragon or volcanic awakening).
Perhaps even time tremors in unison with someone's steps to make them very self-conscious or overly confident.
Unlocked doors/windows to open/close would be the easiest way to make sure I wasn't going to fall for any booby traps.
But not just that.
Enemy pressed up against a door? Open the door to smack them in the face, or at least throw them off balance.
Someone is chasing me? Throw open wagon doors, shop entrances, animal cages, anything that can get in their way and slow them down.
Chasing someone instead? Do the opposite of the above and hope they run into a door or trip over some chickens.
Clean/soil object of 1 cubic foot can aid me in making a certain guard be inclined to leave if their uniform was suddenly soiled.
Remove dirt or blood from my own clothing and on the ground too.
Get rid of all the spilled ink or liquid on my documents.
Chill/warm/flavor 1 cubic foot of nonliving material to alter the flavour of a deadly poison to a delicious cocktail.
Have some dry rations turned into a delicacy.
Maybe monsters won't bite down on me if my armor/clothing tastes bad.
Keep myself (or another) warm or cool in extreme temperature environments.
Another one of its uses is pretty cut and dry: you join two things that were previously broken, requiring both parts for it to work and it can't be more than a square foot of material.
Mend broken crossbow bolts or arrows, AKA never buy or craft them again.
Cover my tracks by repairing the windows I break while trespassing, or the vase I might've knocked over, and the lock I might have to bust from a hidden chest… you get the idea. Or literally covering my tracks (or at least remove tracks) by mending sticks and leaves I've trod on as I traveled through the wild.
Infinite durable weapons by constantly casting it on a broken sword or dagger.
Perhaps even hide information inside hollow objects and inescapable cuffs.
Though I'm sure there must be several more uses I just haven't thought of yet.
Its last feature allowed me to have entirely silent conversations, through solid objects no less, which might aid me to coordinate the moving parts of a heist or communicate with an imprisoned ally.
And, again, the ever important ability to be mean to someone and have them believe they had been possessed by an evil spirit.
Next in line was the jack-of-all-trades, the Illusion cantrip… fittingly named…
{MINOR ILLUSION Lv - 4 (56%)}
{ILLUSION CANTRIP: You create harmless sensory effects like a sound (such as the rumble of thunder, the cry of a raven, a lion's roar, a beating of drums, ominous whispers or your own voice booming up to three times as loud as normal), an image of an object inside of a two meter cube (such as a chair, muddy footprints, a chest, or the appearance of your eyes, face and hair) and anything in between (such as shower of sparks, a puff of wind, faint musical notes, or an odd odor) within range that lasts for the spell's duration. Physical interaction with the image not covering anything solid reveals it to be an illusion, because things can easily pass through it. If a creature discerns the illusion for what it is, the illusion becomes faint to the creature. You can also change the color, leave a small mark (like a symbol) on an object or a surface, as well as change the color of sources of light. If you cast this spell multiple times, you can have up to three of its 1-minute Effects active at a time, and you can dismiss such whenever you want. At its lower classes, visual illusions can't include sound, light, smell, or any other sensory effect on its use. And each sensory effect also ends if you dismiss them or cast this spell for a fourth time.}
CASTING TIME: INSTANTANEOUS
DURATION: 1 MINUTE
RANGE: 10 METERS
COMPONENTS: SOMATIC AND MATERIAL (A BIT OF FLEECE)
Visual Illusions, like Getaways were the first thing that came to my mind.
Being chased by (or chasing) someone too fast for the chaos I unleashed thanks to my Thaumaturgy cantrip? Create an illusory wall to block their path!
Did they somehow manage to get through my illusory wall? Hide inside an illusory crate until they pass by!
A trail of misleading tracks could throw off someone following me.
Destroy the bridge I just crossed and create an illusory bridge over top to break some legs or necks.
Also, assist on my sneakiness.
Need to see what's in a room before entering? Just make an illusory door where the real door is, open it, and peek inside!
Steal an object and create an illusory replica to keep the guards unaware.
Need to sneak out of my room unnoticed? Create an illusion of myself in bed.
Escape prison without alerting the guards by creating an illusion of myself still in the cell.
Bait someone with an illusory treasure chest in a room and ambush them.
Create an illusory copy of a magic item a group of people was after and while they're fighting over it, I would be off trying to obtain it myself.
Is there a window I need to sneak past? Cast Minor Illusion inside of the window with a normal landscape image to simply just walk past.
Protection utility when I'm low on health in the middle of combat? Break line of sight of an enemy and create something illusory to hide inside of (a boulder, a tree, a staircase, etc.) and shoot from inside it to remain safe for a brief moment once my health was back to normal.
Speaking of utility…
Need to show what someone looked like? Create an illusory depiction of them.
A big pile of coins could be very useful in many different cases. On the other hand, so could a big pile of poop.
Need a slide-show? I can use Minor Illusion to better depict the information.
Disguising a small trap or pretending I'm armed when I'm not. Mimic the sound of an approaching monster to fool guards or have them obeying the sound of their commander.
Voice booming three times louder would allow me to deceive people in the distance with the sound of whatever I could impersonate (a monster, dragon, etc.) and make those out of line of sight think I am bigger than I actually am.
And even enhance magical spells solely dependent on its vocal nature in order to reach my targets that wouldn't have heard me otherwise.
Changing the color of sources of light could help me increase the radius and intensity of a torch in darkened places, decrease enemies' light radius or even change colors of a flame to signal someone far away.
Sounds like thunder clap, raven cry, and whispers would be really effective in intimidating nearby animals or enemies mounts with predatory sounds.
A bell is ringing nearby? A dog suddenly barked? Someone calling for help? Everyone else should either go check it out or run away.
Using mating calls to attract nearby animals to facilitate hunting, deceive others to think that there were people hiding just out of sight, make a person paranoid by surrounding them with barely audible whispers, persuade people to leave the area due to incoming rain with the sound of approaching thunder, convince those around me of the truth of my words with the divine approval of an actual thunder clap.
And quite honestly, nothing beats a classic and well timed fart noise.
I'm not joking.
It is believed that Ellia Martell didn't marry a Reachman instead of Rhaegar because of the fart he let out nearby her.
And of course Oberyn had to humiliate the poor man.
I bet he wishes he hadn't, given how things ended up for his sister's marriage with the "last dragon".
But I digress…
Alter eyes and hair appearance will help me deceive others into believing that I was either blind (by having damaged or missing eyes) or just a regular boy, not the Crown Prince with heterochromatic eyes and mismatched hair.
Intimidating others with entirely black eyes, deceiving them that I was ill with my entirely blood-shot eyes, persuasion advantage with eyes the colour of sapphires, amethyst, emerald, or both (depending on the person I was dealing with).
Oh, and not forgetting to add the sparkle of stars over a still night sea to woo the ladies.
Harmless sensory effects could help me torture someone with the non-stop sensory effect of harmless itching.
Or make it feel like something is vibrating in their pockets or bags. You know, like when you swear you just got a phone notification? But for medieval superstitious people.
Color/Mark/Symbol on objects to have my poker hand suddenly be a royal flush!
Easily have the seal of approval from whoever I want to incriminate on a letter confirming scandalous information.
Mark someone to make it easier to track them or leave a trail behind me in case I need to back track.
Make a coin appear like another: copper appears silver or gold and vice versa to not waste my money.
Change the colors of my outfit to better fit my needs.
And so much more.
Stacking the effects of both Thaumaturgy and Minor Illusion together was where this just became kind of a Hax.
I could live my life as a quasi Witcher, by persuading others that their home was haunted (with tremors, flickering light, marks, smells and moaning sounds) and I could remove that haunting, for a fee of course.
Intimidating my way around with a booming voice, intimidating eye color, and the occasional tremor. Or deceiving others by disguising myself as a monster, causing some tremors and enhancing my voice to make it more believable.
Hey, I could even announce that I was a herald of the gods with dramatically timed thunder and sound effects to aid me with my stories and songs. Announcing my dramatic entrance with a choir or applause and for every step taken, a lovely piano note.
After those two amazing cantrips, I eventually got eager to try for the other schools as well.
Like the always useful Conjuration cantrip…
{MINOR CONJURATION Lv - 4 (56%)}
{CONJURATION CANTRIP: You can conjure up an inanimate object in your hand or on the ground in an unoccupied space that you can see within 3 meters of you. This object can be no larger than 1 meter on a side and weigh no more than half a kilogram, and its form must be that of a non magical object that you have seen or know about. The object disappears after 1 hour, when you cast this spell again, or if it takes or deals any damage.}
CASTING TIME: INSTANTANEOUS
DURATION: 1 HOUR
RANGE: 3 METERS
COMPONENTS: SOMATIC AND VOCAL
This basically made outdated my Nexus Market sessions about Equipment and Miscellaneous.
Though the time limit and damage condition prevented me from equipping an entire army with armor and weapons, or just building a trading business with valuable goods.
Hand sized Non Magical trinkets obviously included coins, lock picks, someone's Underwear, key, a flower and many more sorts of distractions that could fit the 1 meter and half a kilogram requirements.
Next, my dip into the Abjuration school was moderately rewarded with a cantrip…
{ARCANE WARD Lv - 3 (49%)}
{ABJURATION CANTRIP: You extend your hand and trace a sigil of warding in the air, weaving magic around yourself for protection. Until the end of the spell duration, you or your target have resistance against bludgeoning, piercing, and slashing damage dealt by non magical attacks. Plus, being imbued with vitality, by gaining a quarter of its Health Bar as temporary Health Points that will be lost by the end of this spell.}
CASTING TIME: 6 SECONDS
DURATION: 1 MINUTE
RANGE: SELF/TOUCH
COMPONENTS: VOCAL, SOMATIC
Mostly useful outside of prolonged combat, for traps or if I was stuck somewhere I would definitely get hit by a ton of attacks.
But I guess having a variant of the Witcher's shield, the Quen sign, was better than getting nothing at all.
This made me more confident of going back to the Magical Dungeon.
The same could be said about my favorite Witcher sign, the hypnotic Axii, through my next cantrip from the school of Enchantment.
{MIND SLIVER Lv - 1 (37%)}
{ENCHANTMENT CANTRIP: You drive a disorienting spike of psychic energy into the mind of one creature within range (it can be combined with any form of magical connection). If the target can hear (though it need not understand you) or see you, it takes a sliver of Psychic damage and is momentarily stunned. While in a haze, your target is susceptible to being influenced by you, as your soft words and enchanting gaze can magically enthrall them.}
CASTING TIME/DURATION: 6 SECONDS
RANGE: 30 METERS
COMPONENTS: VOCAL
Psychic Damage was all about messing with the mind, either causing direct damage or causing the mind to hurt itself, almost like in Pokémon when a creature hurts itself in confusion.
Or when you see an explosion in an action movie and it plays the high-pitched whining sound, minus the Thunder damage.
Depending on the damage done to the target, blood might trickle from their nose, ears, or eyes due to the damage being caused to the brain and it reacting by swelling or bleeding.
Good thing I could boost it with the magical connection I got from my Thaumaturgy cantrip.
Perhaps one day I will actually manage to cause my target's head to explode while doing a guitar solo, or least a lute solo.
And finally, last but definitely not least, my newest creation.
Despite my free use of Subtle Spell, I still need to perform all the components on my first try for a spell.
So, with my hands raised in front of me and sweat covering my forehead, I gathered the reserves of Mana inside me and pushed it forward.
I brought both hands together before raising my hand forward and summoned a swirling ball of crackling energy in between my palm that hit my improvised target with great force, blowing it back against the stone wall.
{YOU HAVE LEARNED A NEW SPELL!}
{ELDRITCH BLAST Lv- 1 (0%)}
{EVOCATION CANTRIP: A beam of crackling energy streaks toward a creature within range, as you make a ranged spell attack against the target, it takes force damage. You can also replace the blast with any flair that doesn't change the physics of this spell, like a beam, flare, bubbles, etc.}
CASTING TIME/DURATION: INSTANTANEOUS
RANGE: 35 METERS
COMPONENTS: VOCAL AND SOMATIC
Force damage is pure raw magical energy. Magic that hasn't been infused with any elements. It's almost the equivalent to being magically punched when it hits its target.
'Who even needs or wants Subtle Spell with this cantrip?' I thought while blowing the tip of my index finger as if it was a smoking gun.
———————————————————
(09/08/2020)
(29/09/2021)
(07/04/2022)
*Hey there!
Thanks for reading my work!
I hope this chapter is of your liking.
If so, I wish to recommend my other stories to you.
Any ideas for powers, equipment, girls and anything else that might be a good match with my fic is more than welcomed.
I might not use anything, but you will have my gratitude for trying.
If this chapter is a mess of grammatical errors, please wait until I will try to fix it as soon as possible.
But for that I need your feedback.
Thanks as always for your time, hope you have a fantastic day and please stay safe.
Bye!
