Air:
3%
Earth:
10%
The extra stat points had increased his mana pool by about 200 points and reduced the net channeling cost to 12.5 mana per second, increasing the total duration to 89.6 seconds – accounting for the initial mana cost. So, he could continuously maintain the channel on two blades for over a minute right now.
“Now this is going to be fun,” Julia murmured.
“Maybe with a little training,” Finn replied hesitantly. “I’ll need to level the spell and try to continue to increase my control range. I also need to find ways to increase my Intelligence further so I can improve the duration and damage.” He grimaced as he realized he might need to take a brief break from dueling to get a jump start on that training. At least this was a relatively slow time of day in-game.
He looked up to find a broad smile painted on his daughter’s face, an evil glint in her eye. “I don’t love that look…” he murmured. “That was the same expression you had when I told you I’d let you use the car after you got your license. You remember how that went…”
“I keep telling you, that guy hit me. Besides, you should be thanking me. I know an easy way to help you with both of your problems,” she explained, daggers appearing in either hand. “First, you’re going to let me kick your ass for a bit.”
Her smile widened further as she stalked toward him. “Then, we get to go shopping!”
Chapter 28 - Thrifty
“I feel like I just got hit by a truck,” Finn muttered as he limped down the hallway. It was taking a while for his natural health regeneration to heal his injuries.
“Oh, hush, you big baby,” Julia retorted, a smile flashing beneath her hood. “I only stabbed you a few times. It was actually kind of cathartic for me…”
Finn glared at her. A “few times” had been more like two hours straight, with Julia only allowing him brief pauses to recover his waning health and mana. Although, he had to grudgingly admit that training against her was useful. Julia was deadly fast, and she struck with pinpoint precision, requiring him to use Imbue Fire with remarkable accuracy in order to block her attacks.
The real mystery was how Julia had gotten so damn fast. She had been circumspect about revealing her class and level, which left Finn to wonder what she had gone through during the beta. Had she started in Lahab? Traveled there? How had she learned Sneak or to fight like some sort of ninja? Every time he asked, he had just been met with another hail of knives. Eventually, he had wisened up and learned to keep his mouth shut.
Either way, Finn felt like he had improved during their sparring session. By the end, he had even managed to nick Julia once or twice. Finn glanced at his system UI, reviewing his notifications.
x6 Spell Rank Up: Imbue Fire
Skill Level: Beginner Level 7
Cost: 130 Mana
Effect: Imbues a weapon with fire mana, increasing the weapon’s base damage by INT x 8%. Can only be used on unenchanted metal weapons.
Channel Effect: Allows user to control the weapon within his control range at a cost of 23 mana/sec.
Leveling Imbue Fire was responsible for most of his progress.
It had become much easier to control the blades as he ranked the spell. The knives still weren’t as agile as his Fireballs or the orbs he summoned to practice Mana Mastery, but they were fast enough to be dangerous. Finn was not only capable of blocking attacks and striking at Julia with his blades, but he had also begun weaving in his own unarmed melee attacks and leaning on his Magma Armor to occasionally block a strike in order to open Julia up for an attack.
The downside was that the channeling cost of Imbue Fire increased with each level, lowering the already-short duration. If he only channeled one blade, his mana regenerated at a measly 4 mana per second, which meant it was hard to refill his mana pool if he kept a dagger up. However, this at least allowed him to slow the mana drain.
By the end of their training session, Julia had become much more wary of Finn – which was really the highest compliment she could have paid him.
The requisition hall soon came into view, mages streaming in and out of the room. Novices filled the outer hallway, making it difficult to navigate the crowd without accidentally bumping into someone. Julia spared Finn a wary expression, pulling her hood down and making certain that her arms were concealed by her robe.
“Geez,” Julia muttered. “Why is this place so crowded?”
“It seems we’re not the only people looking to purchase some gear,” Finn replied quietly. It seemed that business was booming for Charlotte with the ongoing competition.
It took a few minutes for the pair to manage to wind their way inside the requisition hall. As soon as Finn stepped across the threshold, an assistant popped up in front of him. In contrast to his previous encounter with Charlotte’s staff, the man looked harried, and deep circles hung under his eyes, as though he hadn’t slept in days.
“Hello-and-welcome-to-the-requisition-hall. How-the-hell-can-I-help-you?” He asked in rapid-fire sequence. Finn cocked his head, noting that something seemed off, the man glaring at them. It seemed like staff morale might have dropped off.
“Novice fire mage. We need small bladed weapons, cloth or leather armor, and some rings and amulets,” Julia explained, unperturbed by the aide’s tone and listing the items on her fingers.
“Aisles-A1-F5-and-K4. I-hope-you-die-in-a-fire,” the aide snapped, and then he promptly turned to the next mage that had walked through the door, not offering to lead them to their destination.
“Great customer service they have here,” Julia commented dryly. “Anyway, let’s go find you some shiny new gear!” She set off with a singular goal in mind and headed toward the aisles in search of loot. Even the other novices seemed to pick up on Julia’s focus, moving out of her way as she stalked through the rows of equipment.
Finn just eyed Julia skeptically before following her, marveling that this was possibly one of the strangest experiences of his life – his daughter helping him shop for magical equipment in a video game.
That thought was short-lived as Julia began handing Finn an assortment of gear. Their first stop was a set of weapon racks. Julia immediately homed in on the more mundane knives and daggers, dismissing anything that had a magical glow. With the restrictions of Imbue Fire, Finn was limited to unenchanted weapons.
She had soon reduced the choices down to two options. One was a larger pair of daggers that were a bit longer than Finn’s forearm. They were more like smallish short swords than small blades – at least to Finn’s eye. The other option was a pair of more modest knives with an 8-inch blade. The knives were a bit larger than Julia’s throwing knives but were smaller than the loaner dagger she had given him.
“Slower, but more damage and easier to block,” Julia observed, holding up the daggers. “Or lower damage, but faster and more agile,” she added, gesturing at the knives. “Which do you want?”
Finn chewed on his lip for a second before pointing at the smaller knives. Right now, speed and control were more important than damage. Maybe at some point he could control flaming swords or the like, but he definitely wasn’t there yet.
Julia promptly tossed him the knives with a casual indifference for the people around them and set off in search of more gear. Finn stumbled forward, grumbling under his breath and snatching the blades out of the air before they could hit other people.
He inspected the knives as he trudged after Julia.
Masterwork Dueling Knife
A solidly crafted, although mundane blade. This knife is designed for up-close-and-personal combat and is precisely balanced, allowing the blade to be tossed in a pinch.
Quality: D
Damage: 15-21 (Pierce)
Durability: 45/45
Imbue Fire added about 15 damage with his current Intelligence, which put the damage closer to the 30-46 range – not accounting for strikes against critical areas, of course. That was respectable. Finn idl
y considered that the spell basically converted Intelligence to damage instead of raw Strength.
When Finn looked up again, he found that Julia had led them to a row of armor. She immediately dismissed anything with chain or metal reinforcements, her gaze focusing on light leather and cloth. Of the cloth options, Julia also cut out anything with flowing fabric, opting instead for a tighter fit. He suspected she was prioritizing speed and agility over defense.
His daughter grimaced. “This is tough,” she murmured to herself, holding up some equipment as she inspected it. “The leather has a higher defense, and it’ll hold up better when you’re taking damage, but the stats are mostly Dexterity and Endurance.”
Julia pointed at some nearby robes, glancing at Finn. “The cloth is more caster-friendly. Most comes with high Intelligence and Willpower stats. Although, it won’t really offer any protection and most look like mystical ballgowns,” she grumbled.
“Take this one, for example. Who the hell designed this? Seriously, this thing is a deathtrap for idiots,” Julia added, holding up a wrapped garment with multiple flowing layers. It was made entirely of a thick velvet material, and Finn saw filigreed gold embroidery along the hems. “What is this supposed to be for? Are we going into battle or to a prince’s ball?” She looked around in confusion. “Maybe it comes with some crystal slippers or something?”
Another nearby novice had just picked out a similar robe, feeling the fabric. At Julia’s comment, he looked at her with a mixture of surprise and anger. She caught the player staring. “Oh, I didn’t mean it looks stupid and impractical on you.” Julia gave him a thumbs up. “Great purchase.”
She leaned close to Finn, whispering a bit too loudly. “Terrible choice. He’s going to die in that ballgown, but at least he’ll leave a fabulous-looking corpse.” The player let out a huff and stormed off.
“Is there anything in here that wasn’t designed by Versace?” Julia called out, yelling at one of the nearby aides and stalking toward the harried-looking man. When he saw Julia approaching and the determination in her eyes, he looked like he wanted to run.
Meanwhile, Finn took a cautious step away from Julia, noticing the way the other players – particularly the male players – were now glaring at her. Apparently, they didn’t love her pointing out that they were basically wearing a dress.
Even if there was some truth to that…
Finn picked his way down the aisle to put some distance between himself and Julia, occasionally picking up or inspecting a piece of armor. Despite her lack of etiquette, Finn quickly realized that Julia was right. The leather wasn’t a great fit if Finn was prioritizing mana and mana regeneration. And most of the robes were sort of impractical. His sparring matches with Julia and the duels had emphasized the importance of speed and flexibility. That was also one of the primary advantages of his Multi-Casting compared to the other weapon styles.
As Finn approached the end of the aisle, he noticed a set of robes tucked away on the far end of a rack, partially obscured by the nearby clothing. He held them up to inspect them. Instead of thick flowing fabric and velvet, they were made of more practical and sturdy cloth. The robes were also designed to bind more tightly around limbs, limiting the amount of flowing fabric or the risk of the fabric getting caught on something. The color choice was also neutral, emphasizing brown and gray. Finn was okay with that. He didn’t love the idea of broadcasting his affinity or accidentally revealing his location with gaudy colors.
He ran his fingers down a sleeve, noticing that it stretched up and across the wrist, partially obscuring his fingers. This would also help conceal the Seer’s tattoo and my spellcasting, he thought to himself.
Now the only question was whether it gave him the stats he needed.
Battle Monk Robes (Full Set)
These robes were designed by a sect of caster monks who specialized in the art of combining magic and unarmed fighting. As a result, the robes are designed with practicality in mind and have been enchanted to enhance both a caster’s mystical abilities as well as their innate speed and balance.
Quality: C
Defense: 35
Durability: 75/75
+30 Intelligence
+15 Dexterity
“I like it,” Julia suddenly declared, glancing over Finn’s shoulder. “Good pick.”
Before he had a chance to respond, Julia had already paced off down the aisle, players scurrying to get out of her way. “Now we can go look at jewelry!” she called over her shoulder.
Finn sighed, draping the robes over his arm and chasing after her.
Mercifully, choosing rings and an amulet proved to be rather straightforward. Julia picked rather mundane jewelry, opting for plain steel bands and muted gemstones over the flashier merchandise. She seemed to be of a similar mind as Finn. It was better to wear equipment that didn’t glimmer or reflect light. With the game’s heightened realism, there was no sense in accidentally revealing his location with ostentatious jewelry.
A quick inspection revealed the following stats.
Novice Ring x2
A simple ring designed for a fledgling caster. The metal has been enhanced to improve the caster’s Intelligence.
Quality: C
+5 Intelligence
Novice Amulet
A simple amulet designed for a fledgling caster. The metal has been enhanced to improve the caster’s Intelligence.
Quality: C
+10 Intelligence
They were a simple and practical choice.
“Okay, time to go pay for everything,” Julia said, adding the jewelry to the pile and tugging at Finn’s sleeve. She led him over to Charlotte’s counter and put them in line with the other players.
Finn noticed that the other mages eyed them curiously, although he didn’t understand why they were drawing attention. They were just shopping. Maybe it was because of Julia’s rather boisterous behavior earlier?
Shaking his head, Finn decided to focus on his new equipment, doing some quick mental calculations. With the additional Intelligence from the armor and jewelry, he would be able to increase his Intelligence by 50 points. After the increase to his mana pool and regen and accounting for the initial casting cost of Imbue Fire, that would allow him to channel both daggers for nearly two minutes straight.
I can work with that, he thought. Presumably, he could purchase more powerful equipment once he rose in rank, allowing him to channel his spells for even longer.
“Hello, what are you purchasing?” Charlotte muttered in a bored voice as they finally approached the counter.
“All of this,” Julia offered, grabbing the merchandise from Finn and dumping it on the countertop.
Charlotte’s eyes snapped to the large pile of equipment; her brow furrowed in surprise. It was at this point that Finn suddenly realized that the other players in line were usually purchasing a single item – like a weapon or ring. None of them were carrying an entire ensemble, which possibly explained some of the weird looks they were getting.
Charlotte’s gaze shifted to Julia and then to Finn, a glimmer of recognition in her eyes. “You’re Brutus’ sponsored, aren’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” Finn replied. “You helped me purchase some novice spellbooks a few days ago.”
“It seems that you’re moving up in the world,” she observed, gesturing at the pile of equipment. “I assume you have the points to pay for all of this?”
A token appeared in Julia’s hand, and she offered it to Charlotte. “He should have more than enough,” she explained.
Finn glanced at the token in confusion. He patted at his pocket and bag, suddenly realizing that his stone chit was missing. When had Julia stolen it?
Charlotte just arched an eyebrow. “I suppose we’ll see.” She snatched at the stone chit and ran it across a pedestal beside her counter, looking at a display that Finn couldn’t see. “Finn. Fire mage novice. Current point total… 2,030,” she reported, shock evident in her voice.
She
glanced at Finn, looking him over from head to toe and focusing on his starting equipment. “What rank are you?” Charlotte asked bluntly.
“He’s currently number four among the novices,” Julia reported.
This was met with a few hushed gasps behind Finn, the other mages in line murmuring amongst themselves. For some reason, he kept hearing them use the phrase “A-lister,” although he wasn’t sure what that meant. Finn also thought he caught the word “cheater” used a couple times and he frowned. Well, let them think that. It would make his life easier if the other mages continued to underestimate him.
“So how much does he owe you?” Julia demanded.
Charlotte glanced at the equipment, inventorying the items. “930 points should do it,” she said finally.
Holy crap, this is expensive. That was 93 wins right there! The stat bonuses were nice, but he could probably live without them. Finn was about to suggest they put the equipment back, but Julia beat him to it.
“No problem,” she said. “Go ahead and charge it.”
Time seemed to slow for a second as Finn saw Charlotte’s eyes gleam and her hand swipe through the air, running his token across the column. He could feel a pit form in his stomach. In just a few fleeting seconds, Julia had spent the better part of a day’s worth of work. And for what? A few low-quality items?
A moment later, Julia was ushering him off to the side and shoving the equipment into his listless hands. “93 wins,” Finn murmured to himself – still in shock.
How many ranks had that dropped him?
“Snap out of it,” Julia barked, forcing him to focus on her.
“You have to spend money to make money. You need the stat bonuses, and the added defense will help a lot,” she explained. “You were already starting to struggle against people like that air mage, and you can bet your ass they aren’t skimping on their equipment.”
“How many spots did that drop me, though?” Finn asked, still reeling from the cost.
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1) Page 30