While his hands rippled and tingled as the [Claws] spell changed, Ethan stole a quick look at his current side-quest. He hadn’t had a chance to check it in detail as he’d gotten it when they’d been in the middle of the swarm, but now that he was waiting and resting, he could finally take a good look at it.

  Side quest:

  Reach level 50

  Reward:

  15 stat points

  1 magic item token

  1 custom trait.

  Already half-way there, he thought excitedly, and by the time he finished going over his promised rewards, the transformation of his claws stopped.

  The talons, still black, were now shorter. Around six inches each, they had a thicker base and a narrow, straight and sharp edge. The hands themselves were thicker, and as he opened and closed the scaled palms, Ethan felt like he could reduce a rock to dust with his grip force alone. And that wasn’t the only change, either.

  The scales covering his hands were graphite-black. Their shape was more triangular, compared to the circular scales covering the rest of his body, and they looked dense and tough enough Ethan believed he could catch a sword or a dagger with his open palm without the blade being able to cut through them.

  Worth it. So much worth it.

  Ethan grinned. He looked forward to going back out and testing these new bad boys. But before that, he had more work to do.

  Next, Ethan turned his attention to [Reptilian Scales]. He didn’t have high hopes, but he really wanted to fuse the Sapping primagem to them. It would also be nice if he could get rid of the inert attribute.

  He paused. Technically, the sapping effect could work just as well with the [Scorching Enhancement]. Something like [Sapping Scorching Enhancement], maybe?

  Or maybe not… a sapping effect directly on the scales would mean I don’t need a second spell to apply it.

  Ethan closed his eyes once more and focused on the scales. Hopefully he’d be able to score a couple of more upgrades before he uncorked the tier-3 spell. For that one, he wanted something that’d help with the weight issue.

  He had a good feeling about all of these little upgrades and whether he might get them or not. So far, the system’s rewards and selections hadn’t been random, aside from the very first spell selection, maybe. Everything else seemed to have been affected by his fighting style or by his affinities and so he hoped something was listening to his desires, somewhere.

  Alright. Focus up.

  Ethan considered the [Reptilian Scales] covering his body. He pictured the rounded and dovetailed rust-red scales. He’d had them for close to a day or so, which to be fair wasn’t that long, but he felt he’d gotten a lot of use out of them and they’d proven themselves invaluable already.

  Aside from covering him up, they allowed him to tank hits powerful enough to send him flying. If it hadn’t been for the scales, Ethan was confident that Savannah’s spells would have broken bones at the very least and that had been only within the last couple of hours.

  Ethan recalled more of the attacks the scales had dealt with. Diego’s kicks and punches. The water monitor’s jets of pressurized water and bites. The drakes and their claws.

  Now, he pictured all of those spells reaching his scales, and hitting a pale, green light that sapped them out of their force. Weakening them before they even reached the scales, upon which they’d break like waves on rocks.

  A trill spread out of his chest and down his limbs, and Ethan opened his eyes to find a notification waiting for him.

  Congratulations. A lateral evolution to [Reptilian Scales](Tier-2) had been unlocked.

  Reptilian Scales (Tier-2) -> Sapping Scales (Tier-2)

  100 fragments and 1x primagem of Sapping required.

  Ethan raised a brow at that. A lateral evolution? Not an upgrade?

  Hovering over the new spell, a short description popped up.

  Sapping Scales: Summon resilient scales to shield you from physical and magical attacks (Inert).

  Ethan was about to confirm when he paused and eyed his companions, and when he was sure they were too deep into their own advancement process, he triggered the change.

  This one might end up with him being naked for a minute or two. Better be safe.

  A surge of electrifying energy coursed out of his chest and into his skin. The scales rippled and gained an unearthly green shine for a few seconds, and slowly, the color of the light changed from a pale green to a muted red, then it faded away.

  Looking down at his scales, he found they were mostly the same, but rust-red had turned into a brighter red that seemed to have its own shine. The scales themselves didn’t change in size or shape.

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  All in all, Ethan was happy. He was glad they hadn’t become green, somehow. That’d really make him look like a lizard. Or a snake.

  Over the next few minutes, Ethan tried to upgrade his other spells, but it seemed like none was ready to step into tier-3 just yet. Not [Small Fireball], and not [Scorching Enhancement], even when he tried combining them with the priamgem of fire.

  I haven’t spent that much time using them… and I feel like that criteria in particular would only get more important as tiers go up.

  Tier-0 and tier-1 spells had been easy to upgrade, but it seemed that tier-2 required a bit more work before they were ready to be evolved to the next rank. So, for now, Ethan decided he’d try thinking of his spells a bit more in the midst of battle. To push them further, to try and alter them, and to explore their capabilities.

  He felt like that could help.

  Next, Ethan turned his attention to his wands and to the tier-3 spell selection.

  Now… If I do get something for weight, would I be able to use the form?

  Ethan hummed. Even though the non-Prime wand now allowed him two forms, he didn’t think it could do three. On a future upgrade, sure. But right now?

  Well I could test that, actually.

  After another check to make sure he wasn’t being watched, Ethan removed [Scorching Enhancement] and tried to slot [Breath Gland] as a third spellform into the elemental wand.

  It didn’t work.

  Putting everything back in place, he summoned his scales once more and drew his lips into a line.

  A tier-3 regular wand is limited to two forms, I guess. Would it get a third when I upgrade to tier-4?

  Ethan glanced at the tier-4 upgrade and grimaced. It’d cost 1500 fragments for that upgrade, and that’d take a minute to collect. Thankfully, the Prime wand was about to get an upgrade so he might be able to slot any new form he’d get in there.

  With a deep breath, he eyed the tier-3 token, then paused before pulling the trigger.

  A tier-3 general spell or modifier could be amazing as well…

  Did he want to commit to a form here just yet?

  Ethan eyed his two wand menus and the amount of fragments waiting for his attention, then back to the tier-3 token.

  Actually… I’m better off waiting a bit. Maybe look into the wands and their upgrades first.

  There was no need to rush the tier-3 spell selection. Not when he might not even be able to slot the new form just yet. This was his one and only tier-3 spell token at this moment. He didn’t want to waste it, so he’d rather leave it for last.

  With that, Ethan pulled up the menu of his Prime wand.

  Prime Wand of the Juggernaut:

  Spell Forms: [Mana Heart]

  Prime Forms: [ Lance of the Juggernaut, Horns of the Juggernaut, Wand of the Juggernaut]

  Traits: [Universal Tongue, Enduring Brawler, Child of Flames, Vanguard]

  Tier: 1

  Essence: 27

  Cast Setting: Sequential

  Capacity: 1

  Cast refresh: 5s

  Mana regeneration: 1 (6%)

  Prime Bonus: +5,

  Form Bonus (10): +10 Mana

  Fragments: 641

  Available wand upgrades:

  [Tier: 1 to 2 - 500 fragments, 100 Essence]

  [Mana regeneration: Increase by 1 - 100 fragments, 10 Essence]

  [Cast refresh: Decrease by 0.25s - 50 fragments, 5 Essence]

  [Capacity: Increase by 1 - 100 fragments, 10 Essence]

  Ethan cursed.

  I forgot how expensive the tier-2 upgrade was. Shit.

  He had the fragments, but even though he accumulated a good chunk of Essence from diving head-first into the swarm and rushing headlong into battle, it hadn’t been enough to meet the cost of the upgrade.

  Damn. I guess that’ll have to wait. How about the other wand?

  Wand of the Lesser Fire Elemental:

  Spell Forms: [[Scorching][Sapping Scales]], [Dragonic Claws]]

  [Sequential:[Small Fireball]]

  Class: Enhancer

  Tier: 3

  Unique Traits: [Lesser Wand of the Fire Elemental - In use]

  Cast Setting: Sequential

  Capacity: 4/4

  Cast refresh: 4.5s

  Mana regeneration: 2 (%)

  Form Bonus (88): 44 Spirit, 22 Toughness, 22 Might

  Fragments: 803

  Available wand upgrades:

  [Tier: 3 to 4 - 1500 fragments]

  [Capacity: Increase by 1 - 80 fragments]

  [Mana regeneration: Increase by 1 - 120 fragments]

  [Form Bonus: Increase by 6 - 120 fragments]

  [Cast refresh: Decrease by 0.25 seconds - 50 fragments]

  [Unique Trait: 200 fragments]

  [Upgrade Trait: Wand of the Lesser Fire Elemental - 300 fragments]

  Ethan’s eyes were first drawn to the tier-4 upgrade, but he was pretty far from that one still. He’d need a couple of swarms at least. On the other hand, there was a lot he could start investing in. He could get a new wand trait—which he wasn’t that tempted by but he realized it might be a game changer, so he had to consider it seriously—or he could upgrade his current trait, which was much more interesting.

  He could also increase the bonus stat points, increase the capacity, get more mana, and a lot more. He just had to be willing to spend it.

  Ethan cracked his knuckles. He had a lot of work ahead of him.

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