Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Today was Erick’s third day at the farms, and his and Jane’s 30th day on Veird.

30 days was a full month, by the local calendar. All the months were 30 days long. One year lasted exactly 370 days, or 12 months, with one tenday ‘week’ of Festival in the middle of winter. It made sense that their years and months were all perfect; the gods and otherwise had crafted Veird from the corpses of the previous worlds, after all. Currently, Spur was in the middle of spring, and the snows of the far away northern mountains and Crystal Forest were steadily melting, sending water both deep down into the Underworld, and under the sands of the Crystal Forest. He knew all of this not only because he had picked it up over the last few weeks, but also because someone had left a farmer’s almanac in the temple.

Erick was learning a lot of little facts about Veird because of that book. Not only about the timetables of local events, but also [Grow] techniques and ways to ensure that whatever you created could not propagate without natural pollinators, or [Grow]; no one wanted a Kill and Exterminate Quest issued against them by a god or otherwise.

Bees and flowers and seeds were the preferred method of natural propagation, and honey was always great to have. Someone had even brought in some bees to one of the plots of land near the middle of the farm. They were thumb sized bugs that buzzed hard and flew far.

The bees seemed ambivalent to the platinum rain.

The cows a kilometer north loved the rain, though. Erick could hear their happy moos from his spot in the temple, reading with his back against a pillar and his butt on a bench. They kept mooing and Erick kept reading.

They mooed louder. And louder? What—

mooOOOO!

That one was a cow scream. Erick leapt up and out of his seat only seconds after Poi went on high alert.

Erick asked, “What is it?”

As fast as Poi alerted, he calmed. He said, “Mimics attacking from the Forest, but the guards are already on it. Should have raised a wall... yesterday...” Poi paused. He said, “Killzone says they’re not going to raise a wall at all. As long as the area looks undefended, the Shades don’t care. Right now this whole farm looks like a great big target, and... Killzone says that makes them complacent.”

Erick looked at Poi. He didn’t know the man very well, but he knew enough to know when Poi’s professionalism was strained. Erick asked, “You don’t agree?”

Poi remained silent.

“You’re allowed to disagree with your commanding officer.” Erick added, “At least privately.”

Poi said, “Killzone has been at this job for a lot, lot longer than I. He has done well in organizing the army that contains the Shades. He knows the enemy. He knows how they react to certain stimuli.” Poi sighed. “This just means that the Adventurer’s Guild needs to point more adventurers at the mimics. They shouldn’t have been able to muster a mob this close to town.” Poi paused. He said, “It’s possible that they have seen the green and have come to rip it out of the ground, in force.”

Erick asked, “If the crystal mimics clear out everything green, is the whole continent a desert?”

“No, sir.” Poi said, “Only this part of Glaquin is a Crystal Forest.” Poi looked over at the book in Erick’s hands. “Is there no map in that farmer’s almanac?”

The cows had stopped bleating by now. They resumed gently mooing at the rain. Whatever had happened, it was over.

Erick answered, “A political map, and not a very good one.” He turned to the map and stared at the thin black lines and tiny dots. He said, “I’m having trouble with the vastness of this place.”

Spur was located in the lower middle half of a desert, roughly 6000 km from East to West and 4500 km from North to South, with major variations due to the various mountain ranges that surrounded the Crystal Forest. In the whole desert there were only half a dozen markers for cities, while just past the Mondariska mountains to the East, there laid a civilization called the Greensoil Republic, which occupied about the same geographical size as the Crystal Forest, with hundreds of smaller cities and several larger ones, and probably countless unnamed towns strewn throughout. To the West, past another set of mountains and nestled between two ranges, were the Wasteland Kingdoms; a much smaller place, only a thousand kilometers wide, but 3500 km from North to South.

The almanac only covered a quarter of the continent of Glaquin, which was 1 of 4 such massive continents on a planet that was half water. The rest of the continent was largely unexplored, ancient forest. That did not make much sense, considering Earth was almost completely known, and the humans of Earth had done all their exploring without magic that allowed them to fly and dig and survive practically anywhere.

But looking at the distance gauges on the maps and with a bit of mental math, the fact that Glaquin was mostly unexplored began to make some sense.

The Crystal Forest was about 27 million square kilometers large. The Greensoil Republic was 25 million.

Africa, back on Earth, occupied 30 million square kilometers.

“This map doesn’t go into any real detail.” Erick confessed, “And I’m still having trouble understanding the size of Veird. I think your planet is at least twice, no... four times as big as Earth? Probably larger.” Erick was still digesting all that information. He paused. He said, “And the map is political. I don't see forests or otherwise on this map.”

Poi nodded. “The surrounding mountains keep the crystal mimics contained because they don’t like the cold and the mountains are very tall. The only gap in the circle is at the Wasteland Kingdoms; those incani keep the mimics out of their lands as best they can. And the coast, of course. Mimics can't swim. Beyond that are the forests and the grasslands and the cultural and architectural remains of people who failed to hold back the monsters.”

“... So this entire land is a desert because of those guys...”

“Correct, sir. It’s my understanding that people tried extermination campaigns long ago, but mimics either hide or breed, so you can understand how they failed.”

“... And they’re killing our attempts to keep this land a farmland.”

“Also correct, sir. I doubt they’ll get far, though. We can defend against even the largest Monster March, provided they’re just crystal mimics.” Poi looked up. He turned to Erick, and said, “It’s noon. You’ve done almost two and a half hours, so far.”

“Right.” Erick stopped feeding mana to his [Exalted Storm Aura] and set down the farmer’s almanac where he found it. “Time to finish this, too.”

[Telekinesis].

[Telekinesis] has leveled!

Level X!

Telekinesis X, medium range

Move large objects around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large objects around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Erick dismissed the spell, and began working on [Airshape] as he stepped down the temple steps, walking home, with Poi slightly behind and to the left.

- - - -

[Airshape] has leveled!

Level 6!

Airshape 6, 1 minute per level, medium range, 35 MP

Move medium amounts of air around you for 1 minute per level of Airshape, OR gain fine control over small amounts of air.

Exp: 25/1300

His mana was pretty low now, and he hadn’t even made it back to town.

Aurify.

Mana Shaping.

[Airshape].

Erick breathed, and Reality breathed with him. He felt the eddies in the air, the evaporating moisture from his rain, and the gentle respiration of the plants near him.

“Sir,” Poi said. “We are in public.”

Erick cut the spell. A few of the farmers around him were giving him a wider berth than normal; some of them were still collecting the lasts of the short day’s harvests, while others did not step onto the road as Erick walked their way.

Erick nodded, said “Sorry about that,” and kept on walking.

Erick went right home, [Cleanse Aura]d himself for a few seconds inside, making sure to clip the bathroom and his bedroom, then curled up on his nice new bed. The movers had installed the beds yesterday while Erick was at the farms and Jane was home. The rest of the furniture would be coming soon enough.

- - - -

Erick woke up an hour later, full on mana, just in time to greet Al and Jane coming through the front door. After making all of them sandwiches from a leftover roast, Erick grabbed a rod of [Treat Wounds] he had bought from Ulrick Ulrick and handed it to Jane. She frowned, but nodded. All of them moved into the back yard. It was time to make some magic!

Erick turned to Al and Jane. “Thanks for spotting me.”

He popped a large [Weather Ward] across all of them, and Poi. Then he popped a [Temperature Ward], too, to keep the area at a nice and cool 75ish Fahrenheit.

He began, “A—

“Are you... Are you just going to start? Just like that? The [Ward]s are good, but...” Al looked out across the flat Human District. “You shouldn’t do this so openly.”

“Jesus Christ, Dad.” Jane had been holding in her displeasure, but it was coming out now. She quickly said, “You have [Stoneshape]. Put up some walls.”

“Uhhh.” Erick winced. “I don’t think walls are a good idea.”

“Should I put up some walls?” Al frowned. “Or perhaps we should move into the Forest?” He pointed at the city wall. “It’s not a far walk.”

“No no no.” Erick thought. He said. “Put up a very very large visual distortion [Ward]. That would be better.”

Al nodded.

The air glittered with light, then all around, maybe fifty feet away in all directions, a bubble appeared, and the world outside that bubble turned a bit fuzzy.

Erick asked, “Poi? We’re clear?”

“We have been for an hour now, sir.”

“Thank you. It should stay in the sky. If not, that’s what the [Temperature Ward] is for.” He paused. He pointed at the city wall. “Just so we’re clear... There’s nothing over the wall, way over in that direction, right?”

Everyone stared at him.

Poi announced, “We are now ordered to vacate the city, and to do all this out there. Killzone is coming and will meet us in the designated location.”

Erick frowned.

- - - -

North of Spur, Erick, Jane, Al, Poi, and Killzone stood under several different [Wards], along with Zago, who had arrived in the middle of setting up, running across the sands, yelling, ‘Wait for me!’.

Erick gazed across the land. There were a few agaves and a lot of tiny creatures out there, but this spell shouldn’t hit any of them. Erick had done his research in the Mage Guild’s library; if this spell worked, it wouldn’t affect any of them.

But... if there were crystal mimics out there...

Erick gazed at the sky, and opened himself to the manasphere. Meditation felt like second nature; it felt right, it felt good. Meditation felt like a connection to something much greater than himself. He was a little part of a great, great system, like a diver at the bottom of a tropical ocean, staring up at a vast weight of warm life overhead.

Erick spoke to that vastness now, and it rushed to hear him speak.

“A cleansing wind to sear the land of all corruption, damn the damned~

“Of breath of life and death I sing, to all who fear to hear the ring~

“Of cleansing wind to sear the land of all corruption, damn the damned~

“Out life comes, slithering, in this domain of [Withering].”

The manasphere shifted; 500 mana ripped out of Erick.

He fell backward into Jane’s arms. She jabbed him with the glowing rod of [Treat Wounds]. Erick managed to stay awake, sitting on the ground. Jane applied another hit of [Treat Wounds].

Nothing much happened beyond the visual distortion [Ward], out in the desert. The air was a bit thicker here and there, like someone had thrown a low powered [Cleanse] across an exceedingly large area. But that was it. If they were outside of Zago’s [Distortion Ward], they might have seen something more than a general impression of the new spell.

Zago asked, “What did—”

Monsters screamed in the desert.

A notification appeared.

You have slain Crystal Mimic A!

95% participation!

+20693935 exp

Then another.

You have slain Crystal Mimic C!

95% participation!

+20693935 exp

And another.

You have slain Crystal Mimic B!

95% participation!

+33483491 exp

A few more notifications popped. Erick recognized two of them.

Congratulations!

You have created a new Basic Spell. Your spell has been added to your skills for free!

The spell you have created will appear in the Script after a year and a day.

Your spell is the alpha version, and will shift with time and use.

The spell that appears in the Script might be different.

Here is your spell:

Withering 1, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 MP

Purge all water from all monsters in super large area, dealing every second. Cleanse the land around every monster killed in this way.This chapter's initial release occurred on the n0vell--Bjjn site.

Particle Mage Only.

Rozeta thanks you for enriching the Script.

+3 ability points.

I like this one a whole lot. Good Job, Erick. ~Rozeta

There were some leveling notices, too, but he’d deal with those later.

“Help me to my feet, Jane. You can dismiss the visual distortion, Zago. It’s over.”

Jane easily pulled him upright as Zago dropped the distortion [Ward], revealing the northern deserts in all their sandy flatness, and the faint twirl of thick air still wafting across the land; If Erick wasn’t looking for the remnants of his spell, he would have thought it a heat mirage.

Erick pulled out [Withering] and handed the spell’s blue box to Zago and Killzone, then he handed out more copies to Al and Jane. Zago read her copy a few times. Killzone read his once and smiled wide, before dismissing the box. Jane seemed to frown a little, while Al chuckled, both of them summarily vanishing the boxes Erick gave them. Zago held on to hers until Erick spoke.

Erick said, “It’s a spell that targets anything with a 10 or more mana rad inside its body, then purges all liquid water from those targeted creatures. Supremely simple. Highly useful for killing monsters, and nothing else. This is about as comfortable as I am with killing.”

“I’m glad we came out here,” Killzone stressed. “Rads accumulating in intestinal pockets is a more common ailment than you’d think, Archmage.”

“I read that in the library, which is why I focused on rads worth 10 mana or more. [Withering] should ignore almost anyone with minor rad poisoning. But besides that, this spell wasn’t the one I planned on casting inside the city. That one would have stayed in the air.”

Killzone smiled, nodding. “Then this is a mighty good spell you got here. I feel privileged to have witnessed the first cast of [Withering].”

“I’m guessing a [Weather Ward] would stop it.” Erick said, “But the point is, is that you shouldn’t need to use a [Weather Ward] for almost all applications of this spell.”

Zago finally spoke, “There’s an even chance that Headmaster will be absolutely livid that you invented his spell out from under him, or relieved that you chose to go this particular direction. You’ve created something... Something very good for the world.”

“Aye.” Al said, “This was good, Erick.”

“I wholly agree.” Killzone looked out across the land. “But did you manage to kill those monsters out there? Or did the spell end before that?”

“I got notifications for 3 mimics. A, B, and C.” Erick said, “I’m going to wait for my mana to come back then go see what they look like. I... I don’t think this was a kind death.” Erick gazed at the Crystal Forest. “Not sure where they dropped, either. [Withering] seems to cover a lot of ground.”

Killzone exclaimed, “It certainly does!”

Zago asked, “Are you going to try for another spell today?”

Erick shook his head. “No. This...” He sighed. “This was a toll.”

Zago and Al frowned. Jane sighed at Erick.

Kilzone spoke softly, without malice, “Crystal mimics are a blight. There is no end to them. You could fly across the land with this as an aura and still not make a dent in the never ending horde.” Killzone said, “Or maybe you could. It’s okay to kill the bad things, you know. They would kill you if you gave them a chance.” Killzone gestured at the desert. “This whole Crystal Forest is them trying to kill everyone except themselves.”

“Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy kill—”

“Shu—!” Killzone spoke a bit louder, more animated. “Those fu— Those monsters kill people every year. The shadowcats— We succeeded in killing them, but...” All mirth vanished from Killzone. “They killed 7 young adventurers. Did you know that?”

Erick said, “I thought—”

“You don’t think! That’s the prob—!” Killzone stopped himself. He calmed. Authority filled his voice, “I expect to see you learning with the other rookies in a few days when Mog’s monthly class restarts. Be there. You need to learn of the dangers a spell like yours can negate from this world.”

A breeze flowed across the Crystal Forest, kicking up scattered sand.

“You’re completely right, Killzone. Sorry.” Erick said, “I intend to be at those classes.”

Killzone relaxed. “Good. Good.” He asked, “How are the new guys working out?”

The new guys were one middle aged orcol woman named Teressa, and one young redscale named Rats. Rats had a real name, but he went by ‘Rats’. Teressa was twice as silent as Poi and constantly in armor, like she was some silent war golem waiting for orders. They were both off... somewhere. Doing something. Erick wasn’t exactly sure. They had worked out the schedule for guarding Erick on their own; when they weren’t around him, they were doing whatever they wanted to do.

“Well. As far as I know. One is usually at the house, one beside me, the other... not sure where.” Erick said, “And that’s fine.”

Killzone nodded. He said, “Then I’m off. Good luck with Mog’s classes, Archmage.”

Killzone vanished in a black blip.

Erick turned to Jane. “Want to search for monster corpses with me?”

“Yes.” Jane smiled. “I do want to search for monster corpses with you.”

Zago said, “One moment.”

She glittered violet as she pointed into the desert. Three pillars of dark purple smoke began to rise off in the distance.

“The smoke won’t last long. But you should be able to find the bodies before it wears out; targeting rads is a difficult skill, but one supremely necessary for any growing mage, and especially for an Archmage.” Zago bowed. “I shall take my leave, Archmage.”

“Thank you. For the smoke.”

Zago smiled. “No trouble at all. Thank you for letting me witness history.”

Zago vanished in a crash of purple light.

Erick sighed out, “I really need to get [Teleport]. That looks convenient.”

Al laughed. “You make yourself weak if you [Teleport] everywhere! Those two just have too many duties to attend.” He gestured toward the desert. “Come! Let us walk the sands and find your bounty.” He started walking toward the closest purple pillar. “It looks rather close!”

It looked far to Erick, but he didn’t complain.

They walked in silence.

A lot of things were currently bothering Erick, but one stood out from the rest.

Erick asked, “Jane? Al? Am I being too much of a pacifist? I think I upset Killzone.”

“Yes.” Jane answered, instantly. “You have this power to make the world better. Use it.”

He expected that answer from Jane. The only major stress in Erick’s relationship with his daughter had always been, and would probably always be, Erick’s pacifist nature.

Al took more than 0 seconds to formulate his answer. “It is a good thing to realize that violence begets violence, but monsters... Anything with a rad inside of it... They’re not capable of anything except violence.”

Erick asked, “Do they peacefully raise young? Do they communicate with each other? Do they see people arriving with swords and decide that they have to fight for their lives? Are the monsters monsters because you force them to be monsters? Or... what?”

Al walked across the sands, silent again.

They arrived at the first corpse. It looked like crystal agave ten foot tall with all the water removed; a withered crystalline succulent that had cracked open under internal pressure, so dried out that the flesh that hadn’t turned to powder had instead turned solid and blue. The crystal mimic had turned into massive sapphires, scattered across the sand.

Among the rubble there were lumps of blue-brown gunk, gently pulsing, trying to move. Juveniles. Barely able to live on their own, because of him, because of a spell he—

“Dad.” Jane said, “I know what you’re thinking, and you're wrong. These things are not innocent babies left abandoned by a mother you killed. They are the juvenile form of a plague.” She stepped across the broken corpse, moving straight to the middle of the body with a [Conjured Weapon] in the shape of a mining pickaxe. With a quick strike against the largest lump, Jane split the monster’s hardened center in half, revealing a glittering rad to the light. “Hell. These things attack all life that is not them or the natural agaves. They are not part of an ecosystem. They are monsters who destroy the land to suit their own needs, without regard for the lives they displace.”

Erick sighed. “Jane... please.”

“Dad.” Jane grabbed the rad from the corpse. She stared at Erick. “Please.”

Erick stayed silent.

On the way to the next corpse, Al spoke, “Your daughter is correct. Rads drive monsters insane as soon as the rads attach to the heart. There have been studies where people have tried removing rads without killing the monster... Some of them have succeeded. What results is an empty body, without a soul, without a mind. As soon as the rad reaches the heart, the soul is consumed and whatever was is no more.”

“... Is the rad a monster’s soul?”

Jane shouted, “That’s your takeaway?! Fucking hell!”

“I’m trying to understand, Jane!”

Al spoke, “Rads are crystallized magic which is poisonous to all living things. They’re naturally expelled by all people and all animals. But this is not the case for monsters. Monsters are born with rads inside of them. For us, rads are only a problem after they’ve torn through the digestive tract and traveled to the heart. Once they attach to the heart, they consume the soul and transform the brain.” Al stressed, “Monsters are born with rads already inside of them. They cannot be saved, they can only be exterminated. Erick. This fixation you have with believing that monsters are not monsters... It is foolish in the extreme; it makes you look like a fool.”

Erick asked, “What if you were to take the rad out of the body without killing them?”

“This has been done. The result is a living corpse, unable to do anything except drool and shit.” Al went on, “And if you’re thinking of starting with two living corpses, and breeding young to remove the rad at the stage of conception, or some other variation of a theme, know that this has already been done a thousand different ways. The result is yet another living corpse. These experiments have been done many, many times before, by people much more learned than I.”

They arrived at the second crystal mimic.

Al pointed to the shattered blue corpse. “This is a kinder fate than most. You killed it within seconds, without damaging the environment. You even [Cleanse]d the remains! There are toxic monsters out there that most adventurers cannot fight, who use poisonous magics and corrupt the land. Go to the Wasteland Kingdoms and see the truth for yourself, if you must. Witness the corruption of toxic monsters left unchecked by naive young minds. Journey to Oceanside and see the experiments they still perform, for the sake of people like you and the occasional uneducated noble, to inform you that which the rest of us already know.”

Erick stared at the blue gems of a corpse.

Al said, “Most monsters are not evil. They kill. They corrupt. This is their unalterable nature. If you want to give them your pity then you are welcome to do so, for kindness is more beautiful than green land in the Crystal Forest. But know this: mercy for monsters means death for us all.”

Al showed up after dark, just to see if Erick was okay. Erick showed Al his Status, and Al smiled wide.

“Scion of Focus?”

“I did, Al. And it feels great.” Erick smiled. “I think I’ve spent dozens of thousands of mana since I woke up. I’m not quite sure, but I am sure that magic is wonderful. I’m very glad you pushed me toward Focus.”

“I am glad you took my advice!” Al chuckled. “You did well out there, today. [Withering] is being discussed all over town. People want to see it in action.”

“I need to get that up to 10, too. Then a [Withering Aura] and a flight around across the land outside of the farms, after I invent my flight spell. Gotta drive back the monsters. That sort of thing.”

Al smiled softly. He nodded. He said, “This is a good look on you. Not just the Focus, but you went for Strength and Vitality, too. This was a good decision.”

“Strength and Vitality is a good feeling! I’m getting erections every 10 minutes. I haven’t felt this good in 25 years.”

Al laughed, wide and happy. “We need to go drinking! I will be your spotter and we shall get you a proper bed warmer for these cold Forest nights.”

Erick laughed.

- - - -

Al helped Erick set up the nightly [Alarm Ward]s around the house, then set up some final [Absorption Ward]s of his own. Al left with a promise from Erick to go drinking tomorrow.

Erick was drained by the time he went to bed, but he wasn’t Exhausted. He still had [Force Beam] and [Blink] to level to 10, but those weren’t that important right now. He’d make his [Mend Aura] and [Group Precise Flight] tomorrow, too. Heck! He still had to actually play with all of the spells he had leveled, both to get a feel for how they worked, and because magic was damn cool.

Ohh! [Thousand Hands Aura] made from [Telekinesis] and stuff. That sounds like a good one.

Erick looked over his Status before going to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a wonderful day.

Spoiler: Spoiler

Erick Flatt

Human, age 48

Level 31, Class: Particle Mage

Exp: 15170962/217830900

Class: 6/6

Points: 0

HP

444/444

444 per day

MP

600/600

6000 per day

Strength

20

+0

[20]

Vitality

20

+0

[20]

Willpower

20

+0

[20]

Focus

50

+0

[50]

Favored Spell waiting!

Favored Spell waiting!

Scion of Focus

Multiply your base MP regen by 4

Immune to Mana Exhaustion

Requirements: 50 in Focus

Strong 3

Multiply your base HP by 2.22

Requirements: 20 Strength

Exp: 96/300

Enduring 3

Multiply your base HP regen by 2.22

Requirements: 20 Vitality

Exp: 96/300

Discipline X

Multiply your base MP by 3

Requirements: 20 Willpower

Concentration X

Multiply your base MP regen by 3

Requirements: 20 Focus

Clarity X

Reduces spell costs by 50%

Requirements: 10 Focus

Meditation X

Always Resting

Requirements: 10 Willpower

Mana Shaping X

Alter spell AOE in better, subtle ways, 10 MP + spellcost

Alter spell AOE in better, moderate ways, 30 MP + spellcost

Aurify Unlocked

Alter AOE in better, major ways, 100 MP + spellcost

Alter AOE in better, extreme ways, 300 MP + spellcost

Change any spell into an AOE spell, or freely alter the AOE of any AOE spell, 500 MP + spellcost

Requirements: 10 Willpower

Aurify 2

Transform an AOE spell into a semi-permanent effect surrounding yourself, based upon the parameters of the Aurified spell. Increase an instantaneous spell to a 1 second duration in order to create an aura.

Able to support 1 aura at a time.

You may choose who or what is affected by your aura.

Doubles the range on an Aurified spell.

Exp: 68294/1000000

Mana Altering X

Bludgeon, Slash, of Piercing Damage

Force to Light, Blinding, Variable Cost

Invisible Force, Variable Cost

Force to Thunder, Disorient, Variable Cost

Force to Fire, Burn, Variable Cost

Force to Ice, Slow, Variable Cost

Force to Lightning, Paralyze, Variable Cost

Force to Decay, organic damage, Variable Cost x1.5

Chain, Variable Cost x2

Combine Effects, Variable Cost x3

Generate new effects. Variable Cost

Requirements: 10 Willpower

Cleanse X, instant, short range, 10 MP.

Purge an area equal to the level of the spell in meters of all Toxins, Disease, Filth, and Corruption.

Cleanse Aura, short range, 10 MP per second.

Continuously purge all Toxins, Disease, Filth, and Corruption in a 10m sphere centered on you.

Mend X, instant, touch, 10 mana.

Touch a complicated large object, or a small common magical item, and restore it to its prime.

Ward X, instant, short range, 24 hours

Create a Small Ward that can have Minor Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 10 MP + Z

Create a Small Ward that can have Small Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 15 MP + Z

Create a Special Ward. Variable Cost

Create a Medium Ward that can have Small Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 20 MP + Z

Create a Medium Ward that can have Medium Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 25 MP + Z

Personal Ward: Any Ward of any type can be made Personal, to move with you. Original Cost x2

Create a Large Ward that can have Medium Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 30 MP + Z

Create a Large Ward that can have Large Effects, or prevent Z damage from attackers. 35 MP + Z

Create a Ward with another Spell attached to the interior. Spell activation based on Z invested into Ward. 100 MP + Z

Your Wards regenerate Z based on your Rested MP regen rate.

Special Wards can be made Permanent. 250 MP + Variable Cost

Minor Effects: Bug Ward, Temperature Ward, Alarm Ward

Small Effects: Visual Disruption, Audio Disruption, Weather Ward

Medium Effects: Area Hostile Visual Disruption, Area Hostile Audio Disruption

Large Effects: Drain Hostile HP/MP, Gravity Ward

Special Ward: Eschew all other effects in order to shape, color, and illuminate a ward however you wish. Skill level at Mana Manipulation determines final outcome. Variable Cost

Gravity Strainer, instant, medium range, 65 mana, 1 hour duration.

Conjure a large, freely moldable space where specific objects turn near-weightless and fall to a designated point.

Force Beam 2, instant, medium range, 25 MP

A piercing, slicing beam of hardened mana that deals 25 + 1⁄2 WIL damage for 2 seconds

Exp: 175/200

Force Shrapnel X, instant, short cone, 5 MP

Sharpened forward blast of mana that deals 25 + WIL damage in a cone

Billiard Ball Aura, short range, 5 MP per second

Crashing balls of mana bounce erratically, inflicting 25 + WIL damage per hit.

Blink 5, instant, 25 MP

Instantly move from your location to another within , max range 10m per level of Blink

Exp: 50/800

Stoneshape X, medium range

Move large amounts of stone and sand around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large amounts of stone and sand around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Grow X, instant, touch or close range, 5 MP

Cultivate a single plant, or induce plant growth in an area equal to spell level in meters.

Growth Aura, 5 MP per second.

Induce growth in the plants you choose in a 10m radius around you.

Telekinesis X, medium range

Move large objects around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large objects around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Airshape X, medium range

Move large amounts of air around you for 5 minutes per level of the spell. Fine control. 100 MP

Quickly move large amounts air around you for 1 minute per level of the spell. Fine control. 50 MP

Particle Mage:

Call Lightning X, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 MP ~{Favored Spell}~

Prepare the sky to strike an area or object of your choice for . If used in an active lightning storm, Call Lightning’s duration is as long as the natural storm. Every lighting bolt called reduces the duration of Call Lightning by 1 minute, or a natural storm by .

Particle Mage Only

Lightning Aura, 1 MP per second, super long range ~{Favored Spell}~

Prepare the air around you to strike for . One strike available every 50 MP.

Particle Mage Only

Exalted Storm Aura, 1 MP per second, super long range ~{Favored Spell}~

Anoint the land with blessed rain, rapidly growing all to and restoring vibrancy to all other plant life and soil. If used in a , highly nutritious beans will sprout after .

Particle Mage Only

Withering 5, 1 minute per level, super long range, 500 MP

Purge all water from all monsters in super large area, dealing every second, then Cleanse the land around every monster purged in this way.

Particle Mage Only.

Exp: 400/800

Particle Mage

Your ability to unlock new Particle spells is greatly increased.

If you witness a Particle spell and you understand it, you may unlock that spell for free.

Your ability to affect the Particle spells of others is greatly increased.

Your own Particle spells are less affected by the abilities of non Particle Mages

Your Particle spells deal more damage

You take less damage from Particle spells.

- - - -

BreeEEE! BreeEEE! BreeEEE!

An [Alarm Ward] blared. Erick shot up out of bed, his feet landing on the cold stone floor. Night hung heavy outside and inside his room. There had been a lightorb in his room. What happened to the light?

Mana Shaping.

[Special Ward].

A string of lights sprung out from every edge of his room, and every other edge of his entire stone house, inside and out, like immaculately placed Christmas lights suddenly switched on.

Except for in one upper corner of his bedroom, by the window, where the lightorb had been.

An eight foot wide spider made of darkness waited there, seven long legs latched into the stone, one long leg touching the [Alarm Ward] of the closed window, triggering the spell again and again.

Mana Shaping

[Wither—

The spider vanished faster than the speed of thought.

Erick rushed out of his room, screaming, “Where the fuck is everyone!”