Chapter 159: Spell Formation
Soren fell into deep thought.
Unknowingly, he returned to the room and, upon seeing the Third Circle Spell scroll of Mayoufu Meteor on the table, it seemed that he remembered something important and made a decision. The instantaneous casting of spells typically occurs after reaching the legendary level, and what mattered most to him now was his current combat power. It was too difficult to focus on specialist points to impact the legendary spell’s instantaneous casting; if he wasn’t careful, he might already have the ability to ascend to divinity by that time. If he could ascend to divinity, the future would not be devoid of alternatives to legendary spell instantaneous casting.
The realm of deities is filled with mystery!
Thus, Soren quickly made his decision and silently said, “Choose the advanced magic specialty Spell Amplification!”
Once a specialty is chosen, Soren’s thought process opened up completely. He quickly developed new ideas about the total amount of spells he had mastered at this stage, their combat applications, and the types of spells he could memorize.
First, First Circle Spells!
Protective spells were of little use to Soren, who possessed incredible agility and a strong constitution; it could be said that the vast majority of First Circle Spells were not as effective as simply drawing his sword and striking a few times. Therefore, all First Circle spell slots would be used to memorize Arcane Missile. Soren currently possessed six First Circle spell slots; if he memorized Arcane Missile in all of them, he could rely on his Mastery of Spellcasting specialty to instantaneously cast 30 missile attacks, equivalent to a Sixth Circle Spell: Missile Storm.
(Note: The limit for Arcane Missile is 5 missiles, for Lesser Missile Storm it is 15 missiles, casting time is 2 seconds, for Greater Missile Storm the limit is 30 missiles, casting time is 3 seconds.)
The spellcasting combat system of wizards includes not only transforming combat wizards but also cold-based wizards, d*ath-save wizards, missile-based explosive wizards, and the famous Bigby’s Hand wizards. The most formidable should be the transformation wizards and Bigby’s Hand wizards; these two wizard systems emerged before the Arcane Empire. Those who can master these two combat spell systems are quite rare.
(Note: Bigby is one of the most famous combat wizards in history, known for Bigby’s Hands—Bigby’s Protection (Fifth Circle), Bigby’s Forceful Hand (Sixth Circle), Bigby’s Grasping Hand (Seventh Circle), Bigby’s Stony Hand (Eighth Circle), and Bigby’s Crushing Hand (Ninth Circle) being the creator of these legendary spells, which are capable of directly engaging and killing legendary warriors in close combat.)
Among wizards, there are two spell systems capable of challenging deities: the first is the Mayoufu Meteor discovered by Soren, and the second is Bigby’s Hand.
The casting requirements for Mayoufu Meteor are lower!
Once the thought process opened up, subsequent ideas flowed much more easily.
Soren did not lack survival ability, so there was no need to memorize a large number of protective spells like other wizards. Therefore, his spell slots were still used for assistance and bursts. He memorized a Barbarian Strength spell for the Second Circle, one Cat’s Grace, leaving the remaining three spell slots to memorize Arcane Missile with Spell Amplification.
The Third Circle Spell is a watershed.
However, Soren chose to forgo memorizing most spells, keeping only the Flight spell, using the rest of the spell slots to memorize Arcane Missile with Spell Amplification.
In this way, his Arcane Missile Storm was already taking shape, memorizing a total of 12 Arcane Missiles from the First to the Third Circle spell slots.
Such a missile storm attack could easily overwhelm enemies in an instant!
Starting from the Fourth Circle spells, Soren was much more cautious with his spell memorization because this was the critical point of combat, as well as crucial ability enhancement.
He chose Barbarian Strength with Spell Amplification, Cat’s Grace with Spell Amplification, and Greater Invisibility.
As a Level 10 wizard, Soren had two remaining Fifth Circle spell slots. However, he had no thoughts of memorizing other spells because he intended to memorize his trump card.
That is, the Mayoufu Meteor!
This is a Third Circle spell, and when paired with the advanced magic specialty Spell Amplification, it requires a Fifth Circle spell slot to memorize.
Since he aimed for maximum lethality, he naturally couldn’t use a Third Circle spell slot to memorize it.
Regarding the choice of spell memorization, Soren had a remarkably clear positioning for the first time.
As a top-tier wanderer, he was still a novice in the realm of wizards. It was only when the spells and specialties he mastered gradually took shape that his thought process began to clarify. Although he possessed 22 points of Intelligence and a Level 10 wizard profession, the total number of his usable spell slots was around 20, which was not quite abundant. This limited number of spell slots meant he couldn’t cast spells as gracefully as other wizards, forcing him to turn the core of combat into instantaneous bursts, trying to align it as much as possible with his wanderer’s combat style.
Spell formation.
Soren’s understanding of his positioning grew clearer as he looked at his remaining over 80,000 Killing Experience points and chose to memorize most of the core spells in his mind.
This way, he avoided the hassle of needing to memorize spells again from his spellbook!
Level 10 is a threshold; from here on, the Killing Experience required to upgrade one’s profession level rises to over 100,000. Especially for spellcasting professions, they have an additional increase of more than 20% compared to other melee professions.
In a short time,
Soren likely wouldn’t have much Killing Experience to allocate to his wizard profession, and instead was prepared to fully focus on advancing his wanderer’s legendary skill, Shadow Plane.
The morning quickly passed.
After clearing his thoughts, Soren opened his attributes page. He was no longer just a low-tier thief wandering the streets of Amber City. Even compared to the past, he possessed advantages in many aspects.
For instance, in specialty abilities.
Now, his attributes had transformed into:
“Name: Soren.
Race: Half-Elf (Son of Slaughter).
Attributes: Strength 19 (+7, Frost Giant’s strength +6), Agility 26 (+2), Constitution 22 (+1), Intelligence 22 (+2), Wisdom 16 (+1), Charisma 19 (+3, Sorrow of the Desert River +2).
Alignment: Lawful Evil.
Profession: Level 10 Civilian/Level 7 Thief (0/126,500)/Level 5 Shadow (0/18,500)/Level 10 Wizard (0/148,500) [Fourth Tier].
Hit Points: 292/292 [Robust].
Experience Points: 72,075 (Killing Experience), 1,545 (Profession Experience) [Unallocated].
Skill Points: None.
Attribute Points: None.
Legend Rank: 27.
Divinity Value: 12 [Weakened Divinity]. (Raising to Inferior Divinity requires 30 points.)
Status: Normal.
Basic Skills—Stealth 225, Knowledge 275, Theft 75, Lockpicking 80, Traps 75, Concentration 65, Negotiation 75, Appraisal 45, Deception 40, Intimidation 75, Taunt 20, Performance 25, Listening 45, Evasion 120, Parry 55, Block 30, Healing 65, Searching 45, Investigation 50, Scribe Scroll 45, Spell Identification 35, Wilderness Survival 45, Use Magic Device 35, Cooking 35.
Alchemy 25.
Legendary Skills—Universal Skillful Hand, Epic Agility.
Special Traits—Blessing of the Goddess of Misfortune, Blessing of the Ocean Goddess, Dragon bl**d Baptism LV2, Heart of Slaughter, Butcher, Ascetic, Scholar.
Personal Specialties—Dexterous Left Hand, Photographic Memory, Stalwart Might, Reasonably Knowledgeable, Mastery of Spellcasting, Reflex Evasion, Intuitive Evasion, Rolling Evasion, Agile Movement, Evasion from Sight, Darkvision, Spell Control, Spell Amplification, Spell Efficacy, Weak Spell Resistance, Inferior Cold Resistance, Weak Fire Resistance, Weak Poison Resistance, Weak Electric Resistance, Advanced Dual Wielding, Stalwart, Regeneration Level 2, Mind Link (10 feet).
Professional Specialties—Shadow Weaving, Military Weapon (Mastery), Curved Blade (Legendary).
Combat Skills—Summon Shadow, Shadow Leap, Shadow Assassination, Shadow Travel, Gaze of Fear (Divine), Fear Spell (Divine), Vampire’s Touch (Divine), Spell Counter, Sword Intent (Cleave), Sword Intent (Slash), Sword Intent (Decapitate), Sword Intent (Whirlwind Dance).”
Attributes, skills, and specialties.
A powerful professional is built up by these three elements.
Currently, Soren had surpassed other professionals of the same tier in all three of these aspects; the only obvious shortcoming was that his Taunt skill was only 20 points.
There was no way around that!
All along, Soren’s combat style had been to resolve enemies swiftly and efficiently, leaving him with little opportunity to taunt and anger enemies. Therefore, his Taunt skill grew the slowest.
Perhaps because he had interacted more with women, even his performance ability had improved. However, his Taunt skill had barely increased.
Time went by day by day.
Soren devoted most of his energy to analyzing the Mayoufu Meteor, but he still worked tirelessly on the layout of the camp, while receiving some intelligence from Taro Port.
War had broken out.
A local conflict occurred between the northern orcs and the southern kingdom, and the small-scale war made the situation even more chaotic.
The Southern Coast rebels counterattacked a city. The decaying kingdom declared that they had been incited by evil demons and urgently called upon the nobles within the kingdom to exterminate the rebels.
Unfortunately, there were few respondents; it seemed that in this time of impending chaos, many felt the foreboding signs of turmoil. The old noble factions thought about preserving their strength and not many were willing to exhaust their resources excessively during this time. Especially since the main force of the rebels had not suffered severe setbacks, and the hidden demons had only various rumors with no one able to confirm their identities.
At the Southern Gate of the camp.
A stealthy figure crept around from the side and then climbed through a window into a room.
“Your Holiness, the Priest.”
The slight figure removed his cloak and then slightly bowed, “Didn’t find anything. The guards by the warehouse are too strict, along with the spell traps set by that witch; I didn’t dare disturb them.”
There were many wanderers among the followers of Lady Wealth.
He was one of those disguised among the attendants, secretly attempting to probe here since arriving at the camp.
“Mm.”
Gold, dressed in a priestly robe embellished with pearls and gems, nodded slightly, “Being cautious is never wrong. Although he is relatively friendly toward us, it’s best not to provoke him.”
“Has there been any news from the temple?”
Standing behind her was a middle-aged man who appeared to be an ordinary attendant, but in fact, he was a Third Tier wizard.
The followers of Lady Wealth were widespread, and there were quite a few wizards who devoted their faith to money; upon hearing her words, he immediately replied, “No clear news has come through yet, but the church is secretly sending someone to negotiate with the Ocean Temple.”
Fifth Circle Spell: Message.
After listening to him, Gold fell into thought for a moment, then said, “Have them speed up. The weakening of the City of Wealth may lead the goddess to be dissatisfied with us. If we can open up the shipping routes here, prosperous trade can enhance the goddess’s divine power and influence.”
“Understood.” The middle-aged man nodded in response.
At this moment,
A young woman seated in a corner, appearing to be female but not like a professional, more like a merchant, spoke up, “Gold, is it really necessary to be so anxious?”
“I see that this Throat Cutter has very little commercial insight!”
“Recently, I often go out and find that he has invested the majority of manpower and resources into that piece of broken land. These newly cultivated farmlands barely have substantial value; even with a year of favorable weather, he wouldn’t earn much. Perhaps even less than the wealth from a single ship trade. If all this time and effort were invested in building the port, I’m afraid the wealth earned in a year would surpass what he gains from farming for twenty years!”
“Ultimately, he’s just a short-sighted provincial landowner, only intent on looking after that little plot of land.”
Gold turned to look at her. It seemed that the young woman had a high status, so her tone was relatively soft as she slowly shook her head, “Perhaps it’s not that simple. A pirate king who can rise in such a short time must be no ordinary character.”
“Maybe he is scheming for something greater!”
Scheming for something greater?
The others fell into contemplation upon hearing this.
What could be a larger scheme that would make land more important than readily obtainable wealth?
The young woman appeared contemplative, her gaze brightening slightly.
At the Ocean Temple.
Accompanied by the sound of something smashing with a crash, an angry growl echoed from the great hall as the Naga Priestess exclaimed, “How outrageous! This insatiable wolf actually doesn’t know when he has established a connection with the Church of Wealth!”
With a furious expression, the Naga Priestess took a deep breath to calm herself.
Mysterious voices emerged from nearby; they seemed to be coming from the water beneath the temple, speaking softly, “What should we do now, Priestess?”
The Naga Priestess closed her eyes in contemplation for a moment. Then, she opened her eyes and said, “This guy is becoming increasingly difficult to control!”
“No!”
“We must send personnel to establish the temple; he has developed a bit of scale in the Overseas Islands. It’s time to establish the worship of the Ocean Goddess there.”
The mysterious voice from below the water continued, “What about the Church of Wealth? These guys are not easy to handle!”
“Agree to their request.” The Naga Priestess revealed a slight, mysterious smile and said slowly, “But they must also pay a price! Since they want to impose their beliefs on the Overseas Islands, they must yield part of their own interests. Tell them they must allow us to spread our beliefs among the coastal fishermen. Only then will we agree to their expansion of trade in the Overseas Islands.”
Faith exchange.
This was the Naga Priestess’s plan!
All along, the Ocean Church had found it challenging to find breakthroughs in inland areas, being stuck near Taro Port for nearly a hundred years.
Now, the requirements of the Church of Wealth represented an opportunity for her — an opportunity to spread their faith among the coastal areas. She didn’t dare to propose overly excessive conditions but simply targeted those fishermen who might become followers of the Ocean Goddess. As for whether they would further expand the faith of the Ocean Goddess’s influence after establishing a foothold along the coastline, that would be a matter for the future.
The rich catch could easily provide her with a breakthrough.
As long as the Church of Wealth loosened a little authority, they could root themselves among humans.
As for who ultimately reaped greater rewards and whose influence became stronger, that depended on the strengths of their respective divine churches. The Naga Priestess was very confident about this because once the sea routes were cut off, the situation for the Church of Wealth would be quite passive.
Thinking of this, a chilling smile appeared on her lips!
In the dark valley.
The rich smell of bl**d almost enveloped the land; everywhere was filled with deathly vampire bats and those grim-faced vampire servants.
In the center were the corpses of Dark Guardians.
As powerful fallen advanced practitioners, they ultimately fell to the relentless attack of swarming vampire bats.
“How could this be!…”
The Black-robed Priest was covered in bl**d; beneath his tattered black robe, his full plate armor was visible. He gripped a heavy morning star in one hand and a radiant shield in the other, his expression dazed as he murmured, “How could I possibly fail!…”
Nearby, only five attendants remained.
The survivors were all priests, able to don full plate armor and wield shields without hindering their spellcasting abilities, high-level priests.
In such a brutal massacre, priests were among the last ones standing!
Thud.
The figure of the Vampire Son dropped from midair, his chest bearing serious burn marks; however, the flesh there was rapidly regenerating. At this moment, he no longer held the graceful composure he had initially; half of his head appeared severely burned. Nearby, many high-level Dark Guardians had fallen, the surviving vampire servants were very few. Relying on a group of cannon fodder against the organized Dark Guardians was naturally quite costly.
“It’s over.”
The Vampire Son revealed a smug smile, saying slowly, “The elite of the Church of Fear are buried here; even if you return alive, the High Priest won’t let you go.”
“Have you made your choice?”
“Will you serve me, or will you choose d*ath?”
“Now, you no longer have the power to stop me; why cling to the faith of a dying deity? Pledge loyalty to me! You will be the next High Priest; what He can grant you, I can grant you too!”
Clang.
The sound of weapons dropping.
The Black-robed Priest before him seemed to give up resistance, slowly kneeling on the ground.
“Hahaha!”
The Vampire Son revealed a satisfied grin, laugh burst forth uncontrollably.
Having defeated the elite of the Church of Fear, they could no longer stop him from seizing the power of fear. Once the divine power of fear accumulated to a certain extent, he would be qualified to touch the priesthood of fear!
In the dark corners of the valley,
The Hell Poet retracted his palm’s magic flute, surrounded by corpses that died in myriad strange ways, but a commonality was that they all wore serene expressions at the time of d*ath.
He silently gazed at the Vampire Son in front of him, his eyes seemingly flickering with strange light.
(End of part one, to be continued ~^~)
