Book 2: Chapter 38 (Patreon)

While the others slept, Orrin played with his new skill.

Merge:   Combine Spells/Abilities for new effects. Caution: May lose original   Spell/Ability

Select Spells   and/or Abilities…

Orrin pulled up his complete status of spells and skills.

Abilities:

[Mind Bastion] – Individual is able to control his own mind and therefore   part of his body.

[Dimension Hole] – Place items into a container of your choice   (pocket, bag, etc.) Store items in a dimensional chest. Retrievable from any   empty container.

[Identify] – You can see.

[Blood Mana] – Exchange HP for MP (one-to-one).

[Map] – See the world around you. ([Party View]; [Monster View];   [Trap View]; [Zoom]).

[Side Steps] – 3% chance to evade any attack.

[Mana Pool] – Increase MP by 100 MP.

[Through the Ages] – A unique skill created to pass knowledge   through the ages. Only those with the skill or those deemed as the chosen   target can read and write information using this skill.

[Analyze] – Monitor target.

[Meditate] – Regenerate mana at 1 MP per minute.

[Obscure] – Erase skills and spells from your Status. Prevents   closer inspection from [Identify], [Detect], and similar skills.

[Way of the Water] – You are adept at the Way of the   Water, fighting style.

[Merge] – Combine   Spells/Abilities for new effects. Caution: May lose original Spell/Ability.

Spells:

[Calm Mind] – Negates mind magic to a degree. Calms the target,   reducing stress, anger, or sadness. Increases peacefulness and allows logical   thoughts.

[Heal Small Wounds] – Heal up to 10 HP. (Level One). Heal up to   20 HP. (Level Two). Heal up to 40 HP (Level Three).

[Camouflage] – Melt into your surroundings. Increase ability to remain   undetected for 10 minutes (Level Two).

[Lightstrike] – Casts an unerring beam of light that hits a   target for 1 HP damage.

[Inverse] – (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to do its opposite.

[Ice sword] – Summon a sword of hard ice. Does minimal damage   but will not melt in the hottest of fires. Each sword lasts one hour.

[Teleport] – Teleport to any known point within 10 miles.

[Remetabolize] – Change the toxicity and structure of a toxin.

[Water   Reservoir] – Create one gallon of water.

[Toxic Touch] – Your touch becomes Toxic.

[Increase Strength] – Increases target Strength by +1 for 5   minutes (Level One). Increases target Strength by +2 for 10 minutes (Level   Two). Increased target Strength by +4 for 20 minutes (Level Three).

[Increase Dexterity] – Increases target Dexterity by +1 for 5   minutes (Level One). Increases target Dexterity by +2 for 10 minutes (Level   Two). Increased target Dexterity by +4 for 20 minutes (Level Three).

[Increase Will] – Increases target Will by +1 for 5 minutes (Level   One). Increases target Will by +2 for 10 minutes (Level Two). Increased   target Will by +4 for 20 minutes (Level Three).

[Increase Intelligence] – Increases target Intelligence by +1   for 5 minutes (Level One). Increases target Intelligence by +2 for 10 minutes   (Level Two). Increased target Intelligence by +4 for 20 minutes (Level Three).

[Utility Ward] – Maximum possible Level 1 or Level 2 Strength, Dexterity,   Will, and Intelligence increase to yourself and your party within 50 feet.

[Ward] – Creates a ward around yourself or a target to protect   against attacks. Protects for MP maximum.

[Ice Ward] – Creates a ward around yourself and your party within 50   feet that protects against ice magic for MP maximum.

[Water Ward] – Creates a ward around yourself and your party within 50   feet that protects against water magic for MP maximum.

[Poison Ward] – Creates a ward around yourself and your party   within 50 feet that protects against poison magic for MP maximum.

Currently, he had [Blood Mana] and [Mind Bastion] already greyed out, along with the skill that let him hide the skills in the first place: [Obscure]. He quickly added [Merge] to that list, based on Madi’s words that it was a lost skill. With that first order of business completed, Orrin tested out his new skill.

I use [Inverse] and [Increase Dexterity] the most to slow down enemies. It seems like the kind of thing [Merge] was built for. Let’s try it.

Orrin selected the two spells. The blue box appeared.

Merge: [Inverse]   and [Increase Dexterity]?

Compatibility:   100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 0%

Variations: 1

[Decrease   Dexterity]-  Decreases target Dexterity by +1 for 5 minutes. – 5 MP

Cooldown: 24   hours

Accept?

Orrin paused. He read the words, then read them again. So, it tells me if the skills are compatible and if I might lose the original spells. What does variations mean? And a cooldown? Is that for the debuff spell that I’d create or to use [Merge] again?

The debuff spell that he would create cost the same as the buff spell. So he wouldn’t spend the mana price for the [Inverse] spell modifier with each cast. Less mana spent meant more mana in the tank. The spell was a direct upgrade from his current process of spending five mana points on [Inverse] and five mana points on one [Increase Dexterity] for a total of ten mana for one debuff. He’d go from spending 50 points to 25 points to maximize his level one ‘slow spell’ as he thought of it. The downside was it appeared he would be starting from level one with the new spell.

He almost accepted regardless. Plus, testing the new skill out was the most important thing right now, right?

What does variation mean?

Orrin unselected the two spells. His spell list had grown and he selected two that he didn’t use that often: [Water Reservoir] and [Toxic Touch].

Merge: [Water   Reservoir] and [Toxic Touch]?

Compatibility:   30 to 100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 0-35%

Variations: 2

Cooldown: 2   hours to 6 days

Review   Choices

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Orrin muttered.

Daniel shifted in his sleeping bag. Orrin was technically on watch and realized he hadn’t been paying any attention. Daniel and Madi were asleep close by, while Leanthun had selected a spot a little farther away from the group. He waited to make sure everyone was breathing deeply before he continued.

Variations:

1) [Moisturize] – Your touch hydrates and moisturizes the skin. 5   MP per hour.

0% chance of original spell loss. Cooldown: 2 hours.

2) [Create Poison] – Learn basic poisons.

35% chance of original spell loss [Toxic Touch]. Cooldown: 6   days

Orrin frowned. What kind of class would use [Moisturize]? Did they have spas and salons in Dey that he didn’t know about? [Create Poison] was something he had looked at before on the Store list but he’d always been more interested in [Alchemy]. Of course, knowing how to make some poison wouldn’t hurt…

The cooldown had to be for the [Merge] skill. That meant that at some point in the future, it might be worth taking [Create Potion] at the risk of losing [Toxic Touch]. He wasn’t super attached to the spell. It had served its main purpose of letting him get the [Poison Ward] and he could still smell the putrefied head of the Stormhawk.

There could be better combinations though.

Orrin closed the [Merge] box and opened the store. He’d bought [Inverse] for four ability points and never spent much time looking at the other Spell Modifier choices. Now, his mind was running away with different ideas. He searched for ‘modifier.’

[Boost] — (Spell   Modifier) Modify a spell to perform additional effect based on MP. – 4 AP

[Decrease Durational   Spell] — (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to decrease duration. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Delayed   Spell] — (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to occur after a specific duration.   5 MP – 4 AP

[Far] — (Spell   Modifier) Modify a spell to target double normal distance. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Fast Spell]—   (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to move fast as thought. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Increase Durational   Spell] — (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to increase duration. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Slow Spell] —   (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to move slowly as honey. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Split Spell]   — (Spell Modifier) Modify a spell to split effects across targets. 5 MP – 4 AP

[Target] — (Spell   Modifier) Modify a spell to hone in on a specific target. 5 MP – 4 AP

Orrin pushed away the spells that did super specific or ridiculous things like [Improve Growth] — (Spell Modifier) Modify any plant spell to double harvest output. He didn’t need something that would help him grow heartier beans. He wanted something that would give him a bang for his spells. [Boost] and [Lightstrike] might actually give him the ability to dump mana into a spell that could do actual damage. The question was whether he was willing to spend almost half of his remaining ability points on a spell modifier.

I should be more strategic with this. There is no rush. We have to get to the elves and find out the situation in the forest before we make any plans.

That didn’t stop him from continuing to play with the [Merge] template the rest of the night. When Madi woke up to relieve him from watch, he made an impulsive decision despite his earlier convictions.

Merge: [Inverse]   and [Increase Dexterity]?

Compatibility:   100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 0%

Variations: 1

[Decrease   Dexterity]-  Decreases target Dexterity by +1 for 5 minutes. – 5 MP

Cooldown: 24   hours

Accept?

Yes.

Leanthun had two rabbits dressed and cooking over a low fire he’d built in a shallow hole when Orrin woke the next morning.

“Breakfast.” The elf pointed. “We move faster today. There are human patrols about.”

Orrin ignored him and put a pot of coffee on the heater box. He also pulled a few pastries he’d squirreled away and handed them to his friends. After a moment of deliberation, he offered one to Leanthun as well.

“May the trees shade you,” he said, covering his forehead with his hand. “This is appreciated.”

The pointy-eared surprise companion bit into the fluffy croissant and raised his thin eyebrows. “Most appreciated.”

Orrin sat near Leanthun as he waited for his coffee water to boil. “I have a few questions if you wouldn’t mind.”

Leanthun continued to turn his spit of rabbits.

“I know that every time Daniel asks you a question, you tell him to be patient and wait but we are actually trying to end the war between Odrana and the elves. Can you at least tell us about why you two are fighting?”

Leanthun snorted. “We do not fight the humans. We simply repel them from our forest. They will continue to throw their lives away and we will continue to defend ourselves. If the council spoke, our greenest fighters could wipe the plains of the Odrana stench in a fortnight.”

Orrin noticed Madi watching from the corner of her eye. “What do they want? Has anyone tried to negotiate peace?”

Leanthun sliced a piece of meat off the probably-cute-once bunny and tasted it. He chewed and then removed the rabbits from the fire, handing one to Orrin. “If the council knows what the Odranans want, they might share such with the [Hero]. I’m not on the council and not privy to that knowledge.”

“Who’s the council?” Orrin held the spitted rabbit out to Madi, who scooted in closer.

“The elves govern themselves through a council of elders. One in charge of each section of elven society,” Madi said as she took the proffered meat and pulled a knife from her side. She began cutting. “I believe they had a monarchy at one point but the council is all that survived the—”

“Lady Catanzano is correct. Our council makes most decisions for our people. On the day after tomorrow, I’ll bring you to them. We will need to make one stop along the way, but they will explain much and request more. A [Hero] in our forest is better than another enemy at our border.”

“Don’t worry,” Daniel yawned as he trudged over. “I’m sure we can figure out how to get an army to leave you alone. That’s all you need, right? One little [Hero]?”

“You doubt your own powers?”

“Brother, I don’t doubt myself for a second but what good is one person against an army?”

Leanthun frowned. “Most of Odrana’s army is conscripted. They have very few adventurers, as those usually go to Dey to find fame and fortune. The majority of the men are farmers or artisans by trade. Even with your low level, you would lay waste to scores of men in minutes.”

Madi cringed. “It’s true. You’ve been so caught up with the higher-leveled groups of Dey, it’s probably not obvious. Only one in a hundred people are likely to have any fighting skills or magic. The leaders of the army are definitely strong and capable, but the majority of their forces are simple people.”

Daniel paled. “I have to kill people who don’t want to fight?”