Book 2: Chapter 69 (Patreon)

As Orrin theorized about all the ways Daniel could use Return and Crooked on his sword, Ziv brought Gertrude into the back room. The two runes and the small ring of dragon bone that he would need to wear in the future set Daniel back stacks of gold.

Ziv finally brought the weapon and ring back to the front of the store. “There is technically enough space for another rune on this weapon but more is not always better.”

Orrin and Daniel made their way back to the Catanzano house. Daniel went immediately to the training square to practice. The evil glint in his eye made Orrin return to his room instead. He didn’t need to be Daniel’s training dummy. Silas was paying people to train Daniel… they could get beat up a bit today.

Orrin instead pulled up his new favorite pastime: [Merge].

He had bought almost every type of [Ward] he could think of in an attempt to create an [Ultimate Magic Ward] but the System was laughing at his attempts. The closest he’d been able to put together was a combination of [Earth Ward], [Wind Ward], [Fire Ward], and [Water Ward] called [Elemental Ward]. Surprisingly, when he added [Ice Ward] as well, [Merge] lost the ability to combine the different skills. He’d kept away from going through with the combination for a few reasons.

Merge: [Earth   Ward], [Wind Ward], [Fire Ward], and [Water Ward]?

Compatibility:   100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 100%

Variations: 1

[Elemental Ward] –   Creates a ward around yourself and your party within 50 feet that   protects against Elemental Magic for MP maximum. 20 MP.

Cooldown: 30   days

Accept?

While he thought that elemental magic was code for earth, wind, fire, and water, Orrin wasn’t completely sure. He would lose the four spells if he went through with the combination. Although the cost for one cast of [Elemental Ward] would be worth it in the long run, he wouldn’t be able to use [Merge] for a month. That was something that Orrin just couldn’t take right now.

The reason? Orrin had gone on a shopping spree.

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

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

Would you   like to buy [Boost] and [Split Spell] for 8 AP?
 Yes or No

Orrin had been eyeing these two spell modifiers for a while and had finally broken down the night before. Now with a little time to himself, he spent the time to experiment.

Merge:   [Lightstrike], [Boost] and [Split Spell]?

Compatibility:   100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 0%

Variations: 2

Cooldown: 2 hours   to 4 days

Review   Choices

Orrin bit his lip. He had been hoping to just get [Lightstrikes], the spell that the System had hinted at back when he completed the Obtain Level 10 Quest.

Variations:

1) [Lightstrikes]- cast un-erring beams of light   that hit multiple targets (up to five) for 10 HP damage. 5 MP Cooldown: 2   hours.

2) [Flash]- cast a burst of light that hits all   targets within 20 feet for 100 HP damage. 50 MP Cooldown: 4 days.

Orrin smirked. He could imagine the shit that Daniel would give him if he took a spell called [Flash]. He selected [Lightstrikes] and upgraded his basic attack.

“Finally,” Orrin muttered to himself as the spell slipped into his mind. The cooldown counter for [Merge] started counting down and Orrin looked through the rest of his spells. “Two hours to figure out what to get next. I hope Daniel is having fun.”

Orrin spent the next hour going through the list he’d created in his head. [Heal Small Wounds] could be combined with [Split Spell] but not [Boost] for some reason. He couldn’t even cast [Boost] and [Heal Small Wounds] normally. The spell modifier options could be mentally added to a spell before he cast it. Technically, he could create the same effect of [Lightstrikes] by casting [Lightstrike] with [Boost] and [Split Spell]. The mana cost would be the original 10 MP from the actual spell plus the 5 MP from [Split Spell and whatever he put into [Boost]. He’d been sticking with just 5 MP for [Boost] until he had a better handle on its capabilities. Orrin could cast the same spell for 20 MP or [Merge] the three into [Lightstrikes] and cast it for 5 MP.

It was weird that he couldn’t boost up his healing spell but [Merge] gave him an interesting option with [Split Spell].

Merge: [Heal   Small Wounds] and [Split Spell]?

Compatibility:   100%.

Chance of   original spell loss: 0%

Variations: 1

[Healing   Hands]- heal up to 5 HP per touched target. 5 MP.

Cooldown: 5   days

Accept?

Orrin considered the spell as a mental exercise. He didn’t need to be able to heal multiple people at once but could someone with [Healing Hands] let a bunch of people touch them and cure a bunch of people at once? Was it limited to two people or could you use ten fingers to touch ten different people? The workarounds and cheats Orrin imagined gave him pause.

I don’t need this but I should remember to tell Amir about it.

Orrin did make one mistake while playing with his new spell modifiers. He wanted to test what [Boost] could do. On [Lightstrike] it had made the damage stronger for the upgraded spell but he flip-flopped between two spells he had to try out another idea.

[Boost]’s description said he could perform an additional effect. He’d imagined that meant making the spell stronger. He looked at [Ice Sword] and [Fire Sword]. Luckily, he decided to play it safe and use ice.

The summoned sword was bigger than Gertrude and fell out of his hand. It dented the wood floor.

“Fuck.” He’d tried to add a bit of [Toxic Touch] into the mix as an effect.

“Orrin? You alive up there?” Daniel’s voice echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

“I’m fine,” Orrin yelled back, dismissing the sword and checking the timer. Danie had lasted an hour and a half.

“Come down here real quick.”

Orrin pulled a small rug over the ruined wood floor and hurried down the stairs.

“What’s up?”

“Madi sent a messenger. They found some more good monsters for us to kill. You got all your shit?”

Orrin glanced down at his outfit. “I’m not the one who has to get all his toys to kick ass.”

Daniel smirked and rolled his eyes. “Let’s go.”

They made their way down the streets of Dey, pushing through the crowds of people out. The general population was moving around more, finally getting over the upheaval. The lords of Dey would protect them and so would the new [Hero]. Who cared if a bunch of demons might show up any day now? People still had to eat, do their laundry, and go to work.

Orrin’s stomach growled as they passed a stand. The glistening meat roasted on a low fire and the merchant carved pieces directly onto a piece of bread that he rolled like a tortilla.

“I’m getting one of those, how about you?” Orrin stepped into line to grab an early dinner.

Daniel glanced toward the outer gate. “We don’t have time to wait in line, O. We can grab something when we get back.”

“I’ll catch up. I can find you both with [Map].”

Daniel hesitated and then pulled a gold coin out of his pouch. “Get three. We can eat as we walk. I’ll stall Madi as long as I can. She wants us to meet right outside the front gate.”

Orrin watched Daniel walk away. The line moved quicker than he had hoped but he still had lost sight of his friend as he ran after him. He pulled up his [Map] and saw the two marks showing his party members on the other side of the wall.

“It’s getting late,” a guard stopped him as he began to head out. “Make sure you’re back inside before the sun sets. We won’t be letting people in after dark.”

Orrin nodded his thanks and kept moving. They’d been warned the new procedures would start soon. Silas didn’t want to chance adversarial forces moving in at night.

Not like they could stop me from using [Teleport] anyway.

Orrin spotted his friends and ran up to them. “Hey guys, I didn’t catch what these are called but I’ve eaten half of mine and it’s pretty good.” Orrin held the rolled meat sandwiches out.

Daniel took his food woodenly but didn’t respond. Madi hadn’t turned toward him.

“Mads, you hungry? How far away are these monsters?”

“There are no monsters, Orrin. Maybe we should head back insi—”

“Would you go if it was Orrin?” Madi interrupted Daniel. The dim light of dusk made it hard to see but Orrin could spot twin trails of moisture down her cheeks. “If it was him, would you still say it was too dangerous?”

“That’s not fair, Madi,” Daniel said in a calming voice, talking to her like a wounded animal. “You don’t even know if he’s alive.”

Orrin glanced back and forth. “Somebody going to fill me in?”

Madi rubbed her eye and took the food from Orrin. “Odrana has Brandt. They’re probably torturing him or worse for information about Dey. He’s worked with most of the lords at one point or another. He’s the person my father is planning on having killed.”

Orrin took a peek at Daniel. His face was aged, harder than he remembered. “We have to go get him then, right?”

Daniel shook his head. “Tell him where he is, Madi.”

Madi swallowed a bite. Orrin noticed she had barely chewed. “The informant my father used believes he’s held in Sanerris’s castle. Brandt tried… he’s been charged…”

“Brandt snuck over to Odrana and tried to assassinate the leader of their country,” Daniel cut in. “Don’t lie to him, Madi. Brandt was angry and did something stupid. It’s been months since he left. We don’t know how long he’s been held prisoner or if he’s for sure even alive.”

“He’s alive,” Madi said forcefully. “If he wasn’t my father wouldn’t be sending someone to kill him.”

Orrin didn’t understand. “I’m confused. If he’s alive, why wouldn’t your dad try to save him… or kill Sanerris?”

“Killing Lord Sanerris would be next to impossible,” Madi said, crossing her arms. The sandwich was already gone. “He’d have done it already if he could. The people guarding one prisoner wouldn’t be as hard to get around. He’s defenseless, probably starved and scared…”

“Madi, we can’t storm into Odrana. I like Brandt. He’s a good guy but what would he say if he was here?” Daniel put his hands on Madi’s shoulders as he talked. Orrin could see they were shaking.

“Probably something stupid that we’d ignore anyway, right?” Orrin caught Daniel’s eye and tilted his head.

What the hell, man? We have to try right?

Daniel’s lips tightened into a thin line and he jerked his head toward the wall behind them. We have to stay and protect the people here. The Demon Lord and his Horde could show up any day.

Orrin put his left pointer finger on his right palm and bounced the digit around. I can [Teleport] us there and back in no time at all.

“You haven’t been to Odrana,” Daniel said aloud. “We would have to travel there or pay someone to get us there with [Teleport].”

“Even better,” Orrin responded in kind. “Saves me some mana to use on the bad guys. Also, after I heal up Brandt… if he needs healing at all that is, I’m sure Madi is going to kick his ass for making us have to save him. I’ll need the extra mana.”

Madi choked out a laugh and rushed Orrin. He awkwardly hugged her back when she fell into his arms.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Daniel said again. “I don’t want to leave him any more than you do, Madi. You know this isn’t smart.”

Orrin patted Madi’s back. “Yeah, but let’s be honest. We never do things the smart way, do we?”