Finn slowed his pacing, glancing at her. He supposed she was right. Despite his complaint, a part of him did feel… well… excited. What would the new duels look like now that he could finally start using his abilities to their full extent?
“Although, it also looks like that girl did a number on you,” Julia added, gesturing at Finn’s singed clothing. The burns from Kat’s Lightning Bolt had long healed, but blood still stained Finn’s unmarred skin.
Finn nodded. “That last duel was a close one.”
Too close, really.
As a first step, he needed to analyze that last fight to see if he could improve on his technique. Finn swiped at the air, pulling up his combat log and notifications – intending to review the data from the last battle. As he did so, a series of prompts suddenly popped into existence, cascading through the air in a nearly endless stream.
He groaned, realizing that he had disabled the notifications and built up a considerable backlog over the last few days.
x15 Level Up!
You have (75) undistributed stat points.
Stat Increases:
+5 Strength
+12 Dexterity
+23 Endurance
x3 Spell Rank Up: Magma Armor
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1
Cost: 100 Mana
Effect 1: Creates a damage shield capable of absorbing 300 damage (150 damage if water/ice).
Effect 2: Damage absorption increased by INT x 25%.
Channel Effect: Repairs the shield at a rate of 50 damage/second at a mana cost of 15 mana/second.
x8 Spell Rank Up: Fireball
Skill Level: Beginner Level 9
Cost: 90 Mana
Effect: Creates a ball of flame that deals 180 + (INT x 50%) damage.
Channel Effect: Controls the Fireball within your control range at a cost of 10 mana/sec.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Learning
Skill Level: Beginner Level 10
Effect: 14% increased learning speed for skills and spells.
x1 Skill Rank Up: Mana Mastery
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 5
Effect 1: -8.0% to the mana cost of spells.
Effect 2: 3.0% faster cast rate.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Dodge
Skill Level: Beginner Level 10
Effect: 5.5% increased speed and reaction time.
x3 Skill Rank Up: Small Blades
Skill Level: Beginner Level 8
Effect: 12% increased damage and accuracy with daggers and throwing knives.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Toughness
Skill Level: Beginner Level 6
Effect: 3.5% reduced damage and increased pain tolerance.
x2 Skill Rank Up: Concentration
Skill Level: Beginner Level 8
Effect: Ability to split your focus between [2] tasks.
x3 Skill Rank Up: Multi-Casting
Skill Level: Intermediate Level 1
Effect 1: -45.0% casting speed on second spell.
Effect 2: -10% reduced channeling cost.
Finn skimmed through the notices quickly, swiping each one aside.
He noticed that he was leveling much more quickly from the duels, but his skill and stat growth had slowed considerably. Whether this was a function of diminishing returns as his skills hit intermediate or a product of more sporadic use, he couldn’t be sure.
Although, he supposed it didn’t matter. The bonuses from leveling his skills were typically small unless he moved from beginner to intermediate or they represented a prerequisite for something else. Not only that, but some of his skills had begun scaling with his stats, which meant levels were becoming more important. It was the only way he could easily increase Intelligence, for example.
His eyes skimming the notices, Finn saw that he had stat points to distribute. Although, he decided to put a pin in that for a moment. First, he needed to review that last fight and decide if he should make changes to his casting style. He was beginning to realize that strategy typically trumped raw strength within AO.
His gaze shifted back to the combat log as he mentally replayed the fight with Kat. The duel had firmly emphasized the tradeoffs between the different casting styles. It was one thing for Brutus to explain the three variants in theory, and another matter entirely to see them in practice. However, the pros and cons of each style were beginning to crystallize in his head.
A conventional mage with a staff or wand could use their weapon to block but still had a channel. This meant that they could repair a shield or hold a spell at the ready. The mage had stronger casting abilities, but still had the simultaneous use of a more limited melee weapon. Although, a mage with a staff typically had trouble casting and fighting at the same time since they needed both hands to use the weapon effectively. A wand solved this problem but made for a pretty flimsy melee weapon. That likely explained why Finn had encountered mostly conventional mages wielding staves.
Kat’s casting style was different. She had forgone the channel for the use of a much faster and more agile weapon. Finn suspected that in a fight between Kat and a conventional mage, she had a few advantages. If she could bait the mage into burning his single channel, she could use the subsequent few seconds to close in melee. The mage could still use his staff or wand to block, but Kat had the advantage of speed. She also had the ability to cast easily while attacking with her rapier.
That last Lightning Bolt had certainly driven that point home.
However, Finn was different.
Without a weapon, he was reliant solely upon his shields and channeled spells. If he burned both channels, his only option was to dodge and run away until he managed to re-cast the spells or switch back to a style closer to Kat’s by drawing his dagger. Even the secondary effect from hitting intermediate in Multi-Casting emphasized the strength of his casting style. It provided a reduction to his channeling cost.
Finn was only as strong as the spells he was able to channel.
If he continuously channeled mana into his Magma Armor, for example, he could be quite resilient – putting aside that he would then have no ability to attack and the armor didn’t exactly guarantee his safety. The defensive spell had stopped most of Kat’s Lightning Bolt, but a decent portion of the energy had actually arced around the molten armor. So that wasn’t a surefire defense.
In contrast, the disadvantage of the Fireballs was that they were a one-and-done spell. Once he hit something, they were gone, and he needed to recast them. It was only because he had kept Kat within his control range that he had managed to beat her – tricking her into thinking that he needed to recast the Fireballs. Even so, he still had a window where Kat could have bested him. Her lightning had ignored part of his armor, and if she had gone for a dagger with her free hand instead of trying to Blink away, she might have killed him.
In short, Finn was strongest when he had two channeled spells active. If he could keep the channels up 100% of the time, he could remove that window of vulnerability where he needed to recast. However, both of his spells had shortcomings.
What would be my ideal spell? he asked himself, his perspective shifting.
It would be something that he could channel constantly without recasting. Ideally, it would also be able to shift between offense and defense. It was simple enough to cast his Magma Armor at the start of a fight. Yet if Finn could channel a spell that could bolster his defenses while dealing damage, that would be the best of both worlds.
He glanced over at Julia, distracted by the movement in his peripheral vision. She was in the process of juggling several of her throwing knives, tossing the blades into the air and neatly catching them by the tip. The feat was a testament to her high Dexterity. Finn was pretty sure his hands would have been cut to ribbons if he tried that trick.
He sometimes envied Julia’s abilities. She could easily switch between offense and defense, relying solely on her weapons and agility. She didn’t have any lag or pause in making the transition since she wasn’t reliant upon
whispering an incantation or wiggling her fingers. He had dueled her often enough to know that those throwing knives could also be used both to engage and inflict injury and to create pressure and build space for her to retreat.
He wished he had that sort of flexibility.
If only he could control some sort of blade like he controlled his Fireballs…
As that idle thought drifted through his mind, Finn went suddenly still. His mana flared in response to the idea that suddenly ignited in his mind, pulsing through his body in a fiery torrent.
“You’ve just been staring at me for like a solid minute,” Julia observed dryly, glancing at him before turning back to her juggling act. “Also, your eyes are glowing… If you’re going to kill me, could you just go ahead and get it over with?”
Finn chuckled. “I’m not sure it would be that easy,” he replied.
“Damned straight. At least you’re learning,” Julia retorted with a grin.
Finn shook his head. “I just had a thought and need to brainstorm something for a second. You remember how Brutus said that fire magic was about controlling thermal energy?”
“Yeah, you’ve been hurling Fireballs around this room often enough to prove his point,” she observed dryly. “How is that some major revelation?”
“Just bear with me. What is it about Fireballs that allows me to control them?” Finn asked as he paced the stone room.
“The heat I would imagine,” Julia replied, arching an eyebrow. “You know, thermal energy. Seriously, are you okay? Maybe that air mage fried a few brain cells.”
“I promise I’m not going senile just yet,” Finn said, speaking slowly. “So, if I can control a Fireball, it must be because there is sufficient thermal energy. If that’s the case, could I control other objects if they were hot enough?”
And there it was. The question that was boiling in his mind.
Julia paused, snatching the blades out of the air with nimble fingers. “Huh. I mean, that does make sense logically…”
That wasn’t a no.
“Well, there’s one way for us to test this theory,” Finn murmured.
He had created the Imbue Fire spell a few days ago but had precious little opportunity to use it. There were very few benefits of a flaming dagger in the duels, and the minor damage increase meant that it was almost always more efficient to cast another spell.
Finn glanced over at the makeshift weapon rack that Brutus had helped them install. His sadistic instructor had insisted that he practice fighting against different weapon types. Brutus had even been generous enough to provide some old weapons – courtesy of Charlotte, most likely. They were rusted and chipped, but good enough for Finn to get a flavor of dealing with other weapon styles.
Now Finn stood and grabbed a simple longsword. With a few quick gestures, he cast Imbue Fire on the blade, the metal soon awash in brilliant orange flames. He then set the blade down on the stone. Julia stepped over to him, standing beside Finn and watching the weapon with interest.
Instead of simply letting the spell complete, Finn continued to channel his mana into the blade. What would the channel effect on Imbue Fire look like exactly? He hadn’t thought to try this before, and now he was mentally kicking himself.
He poured his mana into the spell, making the same gestures he used with his Fireballs to direct their movement. His fingers twitched, ordering the sword to rise. For a second, he didn’t observe any change.
He poured more mana into the channel, now demanding the sword to rise.
Finn saw the blade shift slightly, and the metal rattled against the stone floor.
“Well, it moved. Sort of,” Julia observed, laughing lightly. “But you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t run away in fear.”
“Thanks for the support,” he replied in a dry voice.
Finn grimaced, dropping the spell.
He seemed to be on to something here, but that clearly hadn’t worked. Maybe the sword had moved because he was increasing the intensity of the heat? That might have simply caused the rusted and ancient metal to warp slightly.
Finn pulled up the spell information now that he had unlocked the channel effect. Maybe the spell’s tooltip would provide some insight.
Spell: Imbue Fire
Skill Level: Beginner Level 1
Cost: 100 Mana
Effect: Imbues a weapon with fire mana, increasing the weapon’s base damage by INT x 5%. Can only be used on unenchanted metal weapons.
Channel Effect: Allows the user to direct the weapon within his control range at a cost of 20 mana/sec.
His heart skipped a beat as he saw the updated tooltip.
He had been right about being able to control the weapon if he imbued it with thermal energy. That meant the twitch had likely been the sword attempting to rise. But why hadn’t he been able to raise the blade?
“The channel effect indicates that my plan should have worked,” Finn said.
Julia just shrugged. “Maybe you just aren’t a high enough level or something? Brutus keeps going on about your Mana Mastery and control range, after all.” She then stooped to pick up the rusty blade, grunting slightly. “Damn this piece of junk is heavy. How does Brutus fight with these things?”
“That could be it!” Finn exclaimed.
“What are you talking about?” Julia asked in confusion.
“You saw the blade move, and the channel effect definitely indicates that this should work. So maybe it has to do with the weight of the weapon.”
Moving quickly, Finn yanked the dagger that Julia had given him from its sheath and set it on the floor. He then went through the same steps, flames soon wrapping around the blade of the knife. He held his breath and commanded the weapon to rise, his fingers twining through the requisite gestures.
The dagger lurched and then began to drift away from the floor until it hung suspended in the air, fire curling around the metal. It wobbled slightly before stabilizing. Finn was straining to hold the blade aloft, and it responded more sluggishly than his Fireballs and the small orbs of flame he used to practice his Mana Mastery. Maybe with some practice, he could get faster.
Julia stared at the blade. “Huh?” she muttered. “I’ll be damned.”
Finn was already considering the possibilities. “I’m limited to using unenchanted metal right now, and the damage increase is sort of negligible. A Fireball can do almost 300 damage, but the dagger is doing more like 30-40.”
Julia shook her head. “That doesn’t matter. It’s not about the damage of an individual strike. The game world is pretty realistic, so it’s more about where you strike. Certain parts of the body like the throat and eyes can provide massive damage bonuses, and cutting major arteries can cause severe bleeding damage. You can also cripple opponents. For example, cutting the tendons in your opponent’s leg can slow or incapacitate them…” She trailed off, half-talking to herself.
Then she grabbed one of her throwing knives and tossed it on the floor. “Can you do a second one?” she asked him, her eyes challenging.
Finn’s brow furrowed in concentration, shifting the channel to his left hand and casting Imbue Fire on the throwing knife. The cast time took a bit longer, a function of having a single hand and using a journeyman spell. However, a moment later, the second blade began to rise. The metal was lighter, and it glided upwards more smoothly, the knife awash in flame.
I need to practice casting the spell more quickly, he thought to himself. He would still be vulnerable before he had the Imbue Fire spell in place.
A glance at the UI in the corner of his screen indicated that channeling both spells was also draining his mana fast. The double-channel was costing him 40 mana per second. Accounting for his regen, his current mana pool, and the initial casting cost, he could only sustain both blades for less than a minute. A few seconds later, his mana depleted, and both daggers fell to the floor – the clang of metal resounding through the room.
Despite the limitations of the spell, Finn felt a flush of
triumph wash through him.
This was the sort of thing that could give him a solid edge. He couldn’t maintain the blades for long, and his control range was limited, but he suspected that could be improved with practice. Similarly, leveling the spell would likely increase his damage. If he could increase his mana pool and regen, that would also help a lot.
This newfound ability made it easy to allocate his remaining stat points. He needed more health and more mana, regen, and damage. Finn went ahead and dumped another 30 points into Vitality and added the remaining 45 to his Intelligence. Then he pulled up his Character Status.
Character Status
Name:
Finn
Gender:
Male
Level:
40
Class:
Fire Mage
Race:
Human
Alignment:
Lawful-Neutral
Fame:
1050
Infamy:
0
Health:
895
H-Regen/Sec:
3.30
Mana:
1295
M-Regen/Sec:
26.00
Stamina:
1125
S-Regen/Sec:
9.30
Strength:
47
Dexterity:
71
Vitality:
70
Endurance:
93
Intelligence:
170
Willpower:
30
Affinities
Dark:
2%
Light:
8%
Fire:
41%
Water:
5%
Awaken Online: Ember (Tarot #1) Page 29
