As his companions closed their eyes and tried to trigger their tiering-up process with varying success, Ethan turned to the cat. Not wanting to disturb the others, he focused on his connection to the cat elemental and tried to push his thoughts through the link they shared. Just like Ember herself did.

  The first couple of tries, nothing happened. But after the third, he felt something snap in place between him and the cat. Holding on to that link, he spoke in his own mind. “[Hey. Ember.]”

  The cat flicked her ears and turned her head toward him. “[Yes?]”

  “[How do you upgrade a spell exactly? It happened once or twice with me, but it’s been days and it hasn’t happened since. What’s the trick?]”

  Even though both of [Claws] and [Flaming Enhancement] had both triggered somewhat spontaneously, Ethan had assumed it’d happen again as long as he kept using his spells and practicing, but it didn’t. Which meant there might be a trick of some sorts he was unaware of, and Ember might know of it.

  After all, he had a small stockpile of primagems, and he wanted to start using them.

  The cat swished her tail for a couple of seconds while Ethan patiently waited. He was already considering potential bribes when she finally answered. “[Try to recall. Have you been doing anything special when you’ve gotten the spell evolution option? There is a trick to trigger the process, of course. But even the trick requires a minimum of familiarity with the spell.]”

  Ethan frowned and tried to remember the circumstances regarding the upgrades of his previous spells.

  For the tier-0 [Claws], it had been the ache he’d felt that spurred the upgrade process. When Ethan had realized his heightened stats were overloading the weak spell. For [Flaming Enhancement], he didn’t remember the exact moment or how it happened, but he remembered it had been when he’d been assaulting the lizardling ritual site. Right before Ember was summoned, around the time he’d melted a hole through the magically summoned wall that led into the ritual site.

  “[When you push a spell too hard?]”

  Ember licked a paw then rubbed at her face. “[Close. That’s a part of it, but what I’ve been taught is that spells need a mix of these three: understanding, familiarity, and a vision of what it might become. Only then a spell can be evolved. That’s why battle is effective. You’re using it and pushing its limits, and the more familiar with it you are, the more you want to push it toward what it can’t do until something clicks and you unlock an evolution.]”

  Ethan looked down at his list of spells and frowned. Was that the trick? It did make sense.

  He eyed his list of primagems for a moment. “[Is that how primagems work then? By coupling them with your vision of a spell might be?]”

  “[Yes. A primagem can let an evolution reach further than it would have been by itself. Vision has limits, and those limits can be bent by primagems. In the example of [Claws], your vision still has to be within the concept of claws. Sharpness, elemental abilities, weight and durability. All of that is valid. But let’s say you want your [Claws] to… cut magic. It’s possible, but that’d be a high-tier spell. On the other hand, if you get your hand on a primagem of anti-magic or dispelling or anything of that nature, you could theoretically access such evolution of [Claws] much earlier than you would have without it.]”

  The more he heard of the process, the more it made sense to him.

  After thanking her, Ethan turned his attention back to interface. Specifically, his list of owned primagems and spells.

  Primagems: [Low-grade: 2x Water, 1x Fire, 1x Lifeforce, 1x Sapping]

  Available spells:

  General: [Detect Life (Tier-1), Gout of Flames (Tier-1), Whisper (Tier-1), Arc of Force (Tier-2), Small Fireball(Tier-2) ]

  Modifiers: [Extended Physicality(Tier-1), Scorching Enhancement (Tier-2)]

  Armament: None

  Enhancement: [Claws(Tier-1), Breath Gland (Tier-2), Mana Heart (Tier-2)(I), Reptilian Scales (Tier-2)(I)]

  Which ones am I most comfortable with? Which is closest to be upgraded?

  [Claws] had been on tier-1 for a while, and he’d done a lot of work with it so he believed it was on the cusp of evolving. [Scorching Enhancement] should be close as well, but he didn’t feel like he was really pushing the spell just yet. He’d gotten it around the time he’d started unlocking the prime forms, so those had taken some of his attention away, but who knows, maybe he’d had enough practice with it to trigger its tier-3 upgrade?

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Ethan shrugged. He would start with [Claws] and deal with the rest after that though he’d be surprised if he could upgrade both. Otherwise, [Small Fireball] was a strong contender for evolution as well but once again, it felt like he hadn’t spent as much time on it. He’d just been using the basic form and hadn’t tried modifying the spell or boosting its flames just yet.

  Looking at the rest of the spells, he realized they were either too new, or he had barely used them.

  For now, Ethan summoned [Claws] and stared at the long, thick talons stretching out of his fingertips. At the tough, hide-like flesh surrounding his skin all the way up to his wrists. This spellform had torn through countless lizardlings and water monitors. It was familiar enough that Ethan hadn’t felt right when he had been forced to use the scales and leave the claws on the sideline. He was familiar with the damage the sharp claws could cause and how much he could push them. If there was a spell that had earned an evolution, it was this one. But if he were to couple it with a primagem, which one would have the best effect?

  Water? How could that affect the claws?

  Ethan couldn’t picture this one. Not really. Maybe an extended effect with water? Claws he could throw at his enemies?

  He shook his head. It didn’t feel like a great fit.

  How about fire?

  That instantly reminded him of one of the evolutions of [Flaming Enhancement]. One of them had been to fuse the latter with [Claws], and he hadn’t been too excited with the option. He liked the fire theme, but he didn’t want it to be his only thing. He had to have something else for the inevitable fire-resistant opponent. Which made him reluctant to use the fire primagem on the evolution of [Claws].

  Then, how about the new ones?

  Ethan turned his attention to the two new additions and he hummed. Both could provide interesting evolutions. Could he use both at once? What if the injuries he inflicted with his [Claws] stole his opponents’ strength and transferred it to him? Some sort of lifesteal?

  I feel like that might need a theft primagem. A theft and lifeforce combination.

  Ethan liked that idea better. As for the primagem of Sapping, it would fit much better on the scales. Being his main defense, if the scales started to weaken the spells that reached it, that would count as some sort of defense against magic.

  Ethan glanced down at his clawed hands, then closed his eyes. He didn't have a primagem for this evolution. None that felt right.

  So. What did he need to think of? Last time, it had been realizing the spell was too weak for his stats. How about now? It was handling what his stats well, but he could use some more oomph. A higher cutting and piercing ability. A bit more flexibility and adaptability. Now that he had the lance, he didn’t need the claws to just keep getting longer and larger. He was happy with them right now. Just more… durability. More compact strength.

  One of the options offered to him in his tier-2 spell selections had been the clawed draconic arms that were supposed to be good with elements. He hadn’t chosen them because he wanted the upgrade to [Claws] to be that, so could it? Those would be perfect.

  A tingle ran down his arm, and it was as if everything around him had gone still. There were no notifications, but it was as if something was waiting for him to justify his desire. To show what he envisioned. So Ethan did.

  He pictured these claws. The talons were shorter, and nastier. As if they were made of metal. They could amplify his fire or anything else he could push into them. They could glow like white-hot iron. They could crackle with lightning and tear through steel. His hands and arms would be greatly empowered, but would also be protected by thick scales that made [Reptilian Scales] look like fish scales.

  A set of clawed arms that he could punch and slash with. To cut through what was left of this tutorial and go find Luther. To give a hand to those who need help, so what Savannah had been forced through happened less.

  A second pulse itched through his hands, and as if the universe had agreed with his train of thought, a message popped in his vision.

  Congratulations. [Claws](Tier-1) can be upgraded. 100 fragments are required.

  Huh. That was… easier than I expected.

  Ethan paid the fragments, and held his breath.

  Do you wish to alter the unlocked options with a primagem?

  Ethan refused that, and was then shown his available upgrade options.

  Select one of the following upgrades for [Claws]:

  Crystal Claws (Tier-2) - Summon dark crystalline claws that can break into explosive and extremely painful shards within your opponent’s flesh.

  Draconic Claws (Tier-2) - Summon dense, indestructible claws capable of great elemental affinity.

  Bear Arms (Tier-2) - Summon powerful clawed arms to rip, tear, and crush your enemies.

  Ethan let out a sigh of relief and grinned. It wasn’t the exact spell he’d gotten before, and he was a bit confused on the difference, but he didn’t mind this at all.

  Those Crystal Claws though…

  It was an interesting option. It didn’t seem to extend to his arm, but in a way, it seemed more offensive than both other options. But as great as it was, it wasn’t what he had asked for.

  Turning his attention to the option he wanted, he noted the differences between [Draconic Arms] and [Draconic Claws]. This option, just like [Crystal Claws] was focused on the claws themselves and not the arms. Ethan also didn’t miss the ‘indestructible and dense’ keywords, which he was pretty sure hadn’t been mentioned in the [Draconic Arms] spell.

  He felt good about this. It might mean he got the better, more specialized spell, which would allow for stronger evolutions in the future and finally, he was glad to see the trait he was most interested in. The elemental affinity.

  Would be interesting to see these dragons. Someday.

  For a moment, Ethan forgot about the tutorial and the suffering within it and thought of his future adventures. Of the crazy monsters and creatures he could find and fight.

  Ethan smiled. Soon, he thought to himself as he glanced around. Just gotta get through this tutorial business and make sure everyone’s back home and safe.

  He turned his attention back to the list of choices. Even though he thought all of these options were great, he knew what he wanted. He wanted the magic, and even if the other two might be more powerful in the strength department, he wanted the elemental affinity. He wanted his fire to always be empowered.

  Just need to find the next element. Lightning sounds fun.

  Ethan hummed as he selected his new upgrade. He liked the idea of fire and electricity, though at this point, anything would be acceptable as long as it gave him variety.

  Click here to join

  If you want to support me and read ahead, there's 10 advanced chapters.