“Some spells cannot be canceled after they are cast,” Cyrus responded. “But many can be.”
“Good. I didn’t really want to start a forest fire.”
“That definitely could have drawn the attention of something you don’t want to see down here on this stage.”
“Yeah, better to leave things like that far from me.” He wouldn’t share more details, but I’d take that warning to heart. Maybe I should be careful how I used Immolation in the future. It had saved my life this time, though.
“Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated Puppetmaster, level 48 Elite. Bonus experience gained for defeating a higher-level enemy.”
I needed to check—
Mid-thought, I spun. Somehow I knew a werewolf was charging at my back. In a flash, I realized it was my upgraded Wolf Sight.
“Wolf sight. Upgrade: Life force absorbed from a monster using Soul Feed will resonate with you, allowing you to more clearly sense similar monsters and see through illusions or invisibility obscuring them from your sight.”
Sure enough, a black werewolf was shooting at me like a living javelin. It leaped the last 10 feet, jaws already gaping wide.
Not this time. I triggered Energy Ward.
The shimmering barrier popped up around me just in time to divert the leaping werewolf aside as I stepped the other way. The snarling monster missed by a hair, then slammed sideways in the air as the double physical damage rebound hit it with twice the force its dive would have done to me.
The werewolf somersaulted 5 times before crashing through some charred bushes. I shouldn’t have turned off Immolation so soon. I wasn’t about to trigger another precious use of the spell, though. The forest was already blackened, but the trees hadn’t caught fire. I definitely didn’t want to attract whatever monster Cyrus had warned me about.
So when the werewolf charged at me again, I let it. Again Energy Ward redirected it as I followed the gentle prompting from the spell and moved with it to reduce the work it had to do.
The werewolf snarled with frustration, but I wasn’t about to just let Energy Ward knock it away again. I pulled a poleax out of my inventory and slashed across the flying monster’s torso, triggering Cascading Force to apply a random extra force to the blow. That should magnify the double impact rebound it was about to suffer.
The head of my poleax rang like a bell and blasted right through the werewolf’s torso. Blood and bones and gore exploded out of its chest and it yelped in pain as the sudden multiplied power blasted it 50 feet to slam into the side of a thick tree so hard its back shattered. Its torso wrapped around the trunk with an unnatural bonelessness in a way not even werewolves were meant to bend.
Kinetic energy. Must have been. That was the perfect random effect from Cascading Force. The werewolf slid down the trunk, leaving patches of fur and streaks of red along the fire-blackened bark. I’d bashed that werewolf seriously hard. It was regenerating way faster than I would, but a lot slower than Alpha had. It shook its head as its neck bones reset, then tried to howl.
Nope. I would not allow it to call the rest of the pack. So far I didn’t sense any other werewolves coming, but how long did I have?
Lunging across the space, I summoned my giant ogre club. Swinging the enormous 500 pound club with all my strength, I cast Cascading force again. I was burning through a lot of mana, but my bracelet was helping my natural fast regeneration to make it up almost instantly.
The werewolf looked up and our gazes met. His crimson gaze burned with hate, although his long ears did droop as he tensed to take the massive hit he was still too broken to dodge.
The club came down like a meteor, smashing the hapless wolf’s body into the ground so hard its already broken torso splattered and dug a gory hole 3 feet deep into the soft earth.
At the same time, a deafening screech erupted around the club. I stumbled back, clutching at my ears, but I was only getting a tiny fraction of the auditory force attack unleashed by my spell. I’d thought the Whisper Finches’ sound attack had been bad, but this one pierced the werewolf like invisible daggers.
Already-ruptured organs shook themselves apart as splintered bone vibrated so hard more shards flaked off. The werewolf’s head convulsed, its ears standing straight out in shock from the overwhelming auditory assault as blood fountained from its ear canals, eyes, and mouth.
That onslaught must have pushed it to the ultimate edge of its ability to regenerate. The sound winked out a couple seconds later and the remains of the werewolf sagged in its gory hole. The thing was barely recognizable as once having been a sleek, deadly werewolf.
Activating Spellseer’s Gaze, I studied the wolf’s broken form. Its entire body glowed with soft crimson light as regeneration energy fought to restore it. Its bloody stomach glowed much brighter. That was the center of the pool of regeneration power. There was still a fair amount there, although perhaps not enough to restore it fully.
Casting my huge club back into my inventory, I crouched next to the nearly dead werewolf and placed my hand on its cracked skull. It twitched, trying to snap at me, but lacked the strength. Soul Feed triggered and energy poured into me from the wolf. The glowing pool of regeneration power dimmed as my spell sucked it all away to feed my reserves.
With a final whimper, the werewolf sagged back, lifeless to the dirt. Instantly I triggered Harvest and Loot while a final wave of white energy flowed off the corpse and into me from Soul Feed.
“Congratulations, Lucas! You have defeated Waterlogged Werewolf, level 38.”
“You have failed to Harvest a spell from Waterlogged Werewolf.”
Not surprising, but still annoying. I squashed my surge of rage at missing the chance to gain Lycanthropic Transformation again. Part of me really wanted that spell, but Cyrus was probably doing me a favor by blocking me from harvesting the same spell twice. I might not be able to keep my own sense of identity if I transformed into a werewolf again.
I turned to repeat the process with the Puppetmaster, but a new notification startled me.
“Congratulations, Lucas! You have reached level 13.”
“No way that should be possible.”
“Would you like me to take it back?” Cyrus asked.
“Can you?”
“Not usually, but since you already break most of the norms, I could probably figure out a way.”
“You’ve done enough experience meddling, thank you very much.” Just thinking about how he’d rigged my experience to force me back to fight Bristleback stoked my anger again, but I forced it down. This stage was actually starting off surprisingly good, considering I’d already run into both bosses.
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Instead of getting defensive or angry, Cyrus laughed. “That fight with Bristleback and your epic battle across the collapsing stage 1 is the crown event of the game so far. You have no idea how many additional benefits you will receive in the coming days from that victory. You gave us a show, and great entertainers always thrive.”
“Please don’t do it again.” At least it looked like he was starting to give me the blocked experience. There might be a slim chance that the crazy fight to escape stage 1 had really pushed me almost all the way up to level 13 already, but the evidence was too overwhelming that he’d rigged the game against me.
I was happy to get another level, but if Cyrus messed with me like that again, I might very well fail to make it to stage 3. It was only by the tiniest of miraculous margins I was alive at all. I needed to find a more creative outlet for his attention.
Cyrus’s voice dropped to a much more serious tone. “I’m happy you’re a top performer, Lucas. Boring players generally fall behind.”
What did he mean by that? The chilling warning was a gentle reminder that Cyrus was not as friendly as he often sounded. I needed to keep on his good side for my own future survival, and for that of my friends.
“On with the show,” I said with forced cheer.
Cyrus laughed again. “The Greatest Showman. Wonderful film.”
And all of a sudden the famous contract negotiation song and dance scene between Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron started playing softly. The foot-tapping song, “The Other Side” was a favorite.
I mouthed the words as I returned to the Puppetmaster and triggered Harvest and Loot. My foot began to tap and my mood lifted. My Spartacus title did give me another 25% boost for defeating higher-level monsters, and that level-48 rare monster no doubt gave me a ton of experience.
All that remained of the Puppetmaster was a softball-sized black sphere, looking like blown glass. Flickers of light in the sphere’s depths suggested that some kind of magic lingered.
"Puppetmaster core. Rare. The core is what gives Puppetmasters life, and lingers after its possessed hide is destroyed. This rare item grants immunity to soul-afflicting conditions. It can be used in many alchemical and crafting projects, creating highly-coveted, rare equipment with a range of effects from soul shifting to mind expanding to protective. Final effects depend on the experience of the Puppetmaster, the lives it consumed, and the manner of its defeat. This one has special affinity to pure energy manipulation.”
That sounded great, and should fit my build perfectly if I could figure out how to use it. The monster had been freakishly disgusting. I’d have to warn the town to watch for anyone coming back from the forest who looked odd. They might not be themselves anymore.
“Congratulations, Lucas! You have successfully Harvested Sapper Charge. Like ancient sappers who could destroy enemy fortifications by tunneling underneath unseen, you have the power to render defenses moot.”
“Deliver a concussive bare-handed strike that disrupts an enemy's spirit, dealing massive spiritual damage. Disrupt any of their active spells or spell casting, and negate most mental and magical defenses. Mana cost: Moderate. Uses remaining: 3.”
“Due to your Backdoor Synergy Wizard class benefits, uses remaining upgraded to 6.”
“Note: Wearing gloves does not block the use of this spell.”
I whistled softly. That spell had a lot of potential. Not sure how I got it from the Puppetmaster. Then I scanned the loot I’d gotten from the monsters. A lot of mana crystals and standard supplies. I did get one special item, which I extracted to inspect.
It was a beautiful full-length, plum-colored hooded cloak made of soft, supple leather, so light it felt more like wool. Its properties were even more impressive.
“Shroud of the Sovereign Will. Epic. Due to your class special abilities, unexpected synergies have been unlocked between the loot of the Puppetmaster and the Waterlogged Werewolf, resulting in this unique item.”
“The wearer of this cloak retains supreme control over their mind and body, making them impervious to external manipulation. Effect: Nullify external compulsions like mind control or lycanthropy. Boost innate body and mind enhancement abilities.”
“Wow, this is incredible.”
“Indeed, your class is already showing advantages.”
I dropped the cloak back into my inventory. I already had a great cloak, my mental resistance was high, and I honestly wouldn’t mind transforming again, if I got the chance. I had other plans for the cloak.
All I had left to do was apply my single free point that came with my new level. The new points in Wisdom and Intelligence were applied automatically. I chose to put the free point into Dexterity, which was trailing slightly behind the others.
I’d spent way too much time and made far too much of a racket in that canyon. So with a new spring in my step, I headed higher up the canyon.
Stats check chapter.
As usual, enjoy the growth, or skip this chapter without missing anything.
Name: Lucas Altan
Race: Tier-1 Human
Class: Backdoor Synergy Wizard
Level: 13
Life Points: 851 Efficiency: 100%
(78,357 tier-0 baby human equivalent)
Mana: 145 Efficiency: 100%
(1,450 tier-0 points equivalent.)
(Note - all other stats convert to tier-0 stats at a 10-to-1 ratio)
BASE STATS: Efficiency
Constitution: 43.8 40%
Intelligence: 38 40%
Strength: 49.8 40%
Dexterity: 33.7 40%
Wisdom: 61.7 40%
SECONDARY STATS: Efficiency
Endurance: 107 40%
CHA: 1,194 100%
(no tier-0 conversion)
Agility: 142 40%
Perception: 113 40%
Magical Resistances 100 100%
Luck: 80.2 100%
OTHER STATS:
Mental Resistance: 80.5 100%
Fear Resistance: 65 100%
Poison Resistance: 60 100%
Other Resistances: 50 100%
PERMANENT SPELLS
1 Harvest Level 3
Unique. Up to 70% chance to gain a skill or ability from a defeated enemy.
Maximum of up to 2 harvested spells. First in, First out.
2 Tether Slide Level 2
Rare. Mark up to 2 objects or items as your tethers.
Within 10 minutes, cast a magical hook to those tethers and slide to them across any terrain up to a distance of up to 500 yards, with a single change of direction at the first tether point. At least one tether must be within sight when spell is triggered.
UTILITY SPELLS:
1 Mystic Looter. Level 2
Loot fallen monsters. Inventory space upgraded to 50x50
2 Linguasight. Level 5
3 Navigation Level 3
Upgraded to include waypoints, notes, etc.
Ping. Once per day, trigger an invisible pulse of energy out to
100 yards times current Perception.
Effect: Update map within with Monsters, dungeons, rifts in the fabric of space, or loot boxes.
4 Soul Feed Level 4
Unique. Absorb energy from fallen enemies to refill mana and health
and supercharge all physical attributes for short periods.
Upgrades to drain energy, share with party, or add uses to Energy Ward.
CLASS SPELLS:
1 Cascading Force.
Apply a random effect to any melee strike.
2 Elemental Harmony
Combine the effects of up to 3 elemental-based potions with any spell.
3 Ace Arcana
Pre-cast any single available spell, scroll, or potion.
TEMPORARY SPELLS:
1 Energy Ward
Invisible defensive aura that extends 1 yard. Redirects incoming attacks.
Deal deflected damage back against attacker.
Uses remaining: 5
2 Knock Knock
Cast your voice up to 50 yards to tell a random knock knock joke.
Uses Remaining: 5
3 Immolation (Harvested Spell 1)
Enjoy immunity to flames as you set yourself on fire and unleash
a tornado of fiery destruction around yourself.
Uses Remaining: 5
- Sappers Charge (Harvested Spell 2)
Deliver a concussive bare-handed strike to disrupt an enemy's spirit.
Deals massive spiritual damage. Disrupts any of their active spells
or spell casting, and negates most mental and magical defenses.
ABILITIES
- Hand-to-hand martial arts fighting. Level 6
Common.
Decrease reaction time by 5% and increase damage by 10% per level.
- Stick and bladed weapons martial arts fighting Level 6
Common.
Increase blunt damage by 15% and slashing damage by 20% per level.
- Spellseer’s Gaze Level 3
(Upgraded from Sight of the Explorer by title Tiberius)
Rare. Ability to zoom in on distant objects and trigger Identify.
See energy and mana in living color.
- Wolf Blood Level 3
Uncommon. Speed up health and mana regeneration by a 10% per level.
- Wolf Sight Level 2
Uncommon. Unlocks night vision.
Life force absorbed from a monster will help more clearly sense similar monsters and see through illusions or invisibility obscuring them.
- Knife Throwing Level 2
Common. When throwing short, bladed weapons,
Improve accuracy by 10% and damage by 15% per level.
- Mana Sense Level 15
Common. Improve sensitivity to mana by 10% per level.
- Meditation Level 13
Common. Plus 5% to Wisdom per level.
- Mana Manipulation Level 13
Common. Gain 10% improvement to feel and control mana per level.
- Spell Weaver Level 3
Class Ability
Rare. Dramatically increase chances of combining two otherwise
non-compatible spells to produce a new evolution of both with their starting
combined power plus 15% per level.
- Mimic Level 4
Class Ability
Rare. Gain a 20% chance per level to cast any spell you’ve been struck with
in the last 15 seconds as if it was a temporary spell you control.
EXISTING TITLES:
Inquisitive Mind
Trailblazer
David Copperfield
Lucky Stiff
Musketeer
Spartacus
Doctor Strange
Hercules
Alan Alan
Tiberius
NEW TITLES:
Merlin
Plus 5 to Intelligence.
Plus 5 to Wisdom.
Plus 10 levels to all existing direct mana-focused abilities.
Start all new direct mana-focused abilities at level 5.
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