Leveling up the World

Chapter 708: Nox's Skill Choice

It had been ages since Dallion used the combat arena of his awakening realm. In fact, he had barely set foot in it since the transformation of his realm. Even his echoes didnt bother, since there was no way for them to increase their skills, plus one good hit would mean their death.

Whys he training there? Gem asked, sitting atop Julys head.

Because it thinks itll make a difference, the echo said unapologetically.

Will it?

No, but it makes him feel better.

Quite an astute observation, given that for the last few days Dallion had been focusing only on learning the symbols he needed to cast the training spell. True to her word, Harp hadnt commented on the execution, only the methods of symbol drawing. What she did do was create a block of running water that made casting considerably easier. Now Dallion not only had points he had to follow when drawing a symbol, but also the dotted line between them.

Hes doing rather well, the bowl dryad said. She, like everyone else in the realm, was at the arena watching the spectacle.

For a five-year-old, the armadil shield said, as he leant back. Youre doing great, Dal, he shouted. Make sure to learn how to bake blocks of water. That way, you can train cute apprentices how to cast magic better.

There was a time when the comment would have made Dallion flinch. After all the time spent together, he had gotten used to Vihrogons antics.

Idiot, he said, finishing drawing the final line. The symbol gained form, glowing bright purple in the water. This was the second time Dallion had managed to complete it. A few more times and hed finally be able to start casting. There was nothing stopping him even now, apart from the wisdom of knowing that half-hearted attempts would only take more time in the long run.

A short distance away, the aetherfish made yet another attempt to cast the spell. In its previous form it might well have succeeded, but when the Purple Moon had allowed the creature to become Dallions companion, he had also severely reduced its level. At present, anything more than five simple symbols presented a challenge.

Taking a moment to take a breath, Dallion cracked his fingers, then started drawing the symbol once more. His movements were a lot smoother than last time, releasing magic threads without mistake. One second and half of the symbol components were there. Encouraged, Dallion picked up the pace. Magic threads stretched from his fingers, following the awakened markers and water lines without fail.

Dull pressure built up in his temples, reminding Dallion that he was nearing his limit. Before it could turn into pain, the symbol was complete.

Three seconds, Onda cheered. Way to go!

Dallion didnt respond. In order for the spell to work, he had to be able to cast the entire thing in that amount of time or less.

The block of water fell to the ground, trickling off the arena field. No doubt Harp was hinting that Dallion needed a rest.

I want to cast it, he said, discreetly massaging his left temple.

Its too early, Harp replied. You need a few more days, at least.

Ill never go forward if I take so long.

Youll never go forward if you drag all your shortcomings with you. Sounds vibrated all over the nymphs body. I wont stop you, but you know that its a mistake.

Let the boy do it, Nil said. Sometimes the best way to learn is to break ones head a few times. In his case, maybe a dozen or so.

Dallion clenched his fists. What was with everyones attitude lately? He could tell there was no ill intent, but all echoes and guardians were starting to get more than a bit annoying and at a time when he needed their support the most.

One spell, he said. If I dont manage, Ill stop. He paused for a few moments. And if I succeed, youll guide me on how the actual training works. Both of you.

Leave me out of this, dear boy. This isnt a field I specialized in. Seeing that youre the only person taking the class, you can guess why.

That was highly doubtful, but Dallion decided not to make a big deal of it. If nothing else, the threat of asking advice might keep Nil quiet for a bit longer.

One attempt, the nymph said. And you cast in air.

It would have been better to use the water as well, but beggars werent choosers. Taking a deep breath, Dallion started recreating the spell. Normally, hed create the frame and symbols directly. This time, he started by completing the entire frame. Unlike symbols, it could remain in existence a lot longer, provided that he used a thread to reinforce it every second.

That done, Dallion focused on the symbols. Both hands moved with such speed that from the side, it would appear that Dallion had six arms in total. The high value of his reaction trait had won him many fights in the wilderness, and yet it was barely enough to allow him to cast a single complex spell. The pressure was so intense that Dallion couldnt afford to create instances. He had to rely that hed have it done in one go, like the majority of mages did.

Three to one that he makes it, Gen said, turning to Vihrogon.

What are we gambling with? the dryad asked, intrigued.

Numbers?

Then I sat two to one that he fails spectacularly at the last moment.

A chill appeared in Dallions fingertips, moving down through his hand. Ten seconds passed since the start of the spell and he was not even halfway there. Even with four symbols appearing every two seconds, the length of spell casting was far too long. His body rebelled, sending chills and blasts of heat through him. His fingers felt like ice, but didnt stop moving.

Just a few more, Dallion told himself.

Four symbols remained. All of them were easy to draw, though not so much with his hands going numb. Holding his breath, Dallion kept on releasing magic threads.

The final symbol was placed, completing the spell. The circles glowed, then collapsed into a single point. Now was the moment for Dallion to create an echo to serve as a test dummy. Before he could do that, a host of rectangles appeared around him, most of them blank. Surprised, Dallion turned to see where the threads of the purple ones led.

Nox? he asked in disbelief.

The puma had curled up on the edge of the arenas field, considerably closer than everyone else. It didnt seem neither alarmed nor interested in what had happened, snoozing comfortably.

Do we count that as a mess up? Vihrogon asked.

What the heck, Nox?! Dallion shouted.

The cracklings ear flicked upon hearing its name. Slowly it raised its head, stretched, yawned, then glanced at Dallion with a typical annoyed feline expression.

What? The familiar took a few steps forward.

A ball of mischief formed within the creatures stomach. Age and comfort hadnt fully erased the character of the cubling Dallion had saved all that time ago.

Noxs current skills were rather surprising. One could guess he had attack, athletics, and acrobatics, as well as the unique skills crack and spider web crack. The devour skill also wasnt too surprising. The fact that the puma had carving, was completely unexpected. So far, there hadnt been a single instant in which Nox had ever used that skill, even when he could have.

The potential skills he had the ability to learn were far more, not to mention that there were several rows of themfar more than Palag had said there should be.

Did you do that? Dallion glanced at Harp. Why do I see so many skills?

Your perception, dear boy, Nil answered instead. The fury is a passable instructor, but there were certain things he tends to neglect, as do most mages. While magic can compensate for low trait values in some cases, with others, thats not the case.

Finally, a pleasant surprise. It only saved some time, but at least Dallion wouldnt have to chart the skills of all of his familiars. The only drawback was that the choices were overwhelming. As any experienced gamer, Dallion started reading the outermost skills first.

FISSURE TRAVEL

Allows Nox to use realms to instantly move between parts of a crack in the real world.

If the crack is in contact with other cracks, Nox can travel along them as well.

REALITY TEAR

Allows Nox to create tears within the reality of a realm and use them to enter or escape.

Not applicable to the reality of the real world.

Both of these were scary, to say the least. In order to reach them, Nox had to level up dozens, if not hundreds, of times. However, with Dallions new ability, he could obtain them a lot faster.

Will magic improvement work on Nox? Dallion asked.

Thats a rather good question. Nil scratched his chin. Having a crackling familiar is rather unusual. Normally, it shouldnt. Yet, you used a spell to show you his skill groups, so who knows? Maybe the nymph empire has come across something like this?

No way. Shook his head. It would have been big news. Star-spawn and magic dont mix well.

SHACKLE GUARDIAN

Allows Nox to shackle guardians, preventing them from affecting the realm they are in.

The shackles must be stronger than the guardian they are used on.

That sounded a bit too similar to delevling. The description explicitly claimed the skill only was meant for guardians, but in a world in which everything had a guardian, it was almost the same as if it affected a person. All it took was Nox to force all the guardians of someones clothes to work against him, for all sorts of mishaps to happen. It could even be possible to make a sword lose its sharpness, becoming as efficient as a steel bar.

Nox, what do you think? Dallion asked, still skimming through the rectangle descriptions. Willing to try gaining a new skill? No guarantees it wont hurt.

You bet I do, the puma said. This one. His paw went through one of the rectangles.

Dallion waited a few moments for the rectangle to re-emerge.

PACK FORM

Allows Nox to make multiple sets of paws, jaws, and eyes emerge from his body.

The number of sets depends on Noxs level.

That thing? Dallion blinked. Whyd you want that?

The skill was quite horrifying for a single-digit awakened. Even a low double-digit might have some difficulties. After a point, though, it became more of a cosmetic feature. Every large group of realm beasts could do that.

Its nothing special.

I like it, Nox insisted.

Okay, your choice, Dallion did his best to hide his disappointment. A moment ago, he was worried that Nox might want a skill that would make him too powerful. Instead, he had set his sights on effectively eye candy.

Concentrating, Dallion stretched some of his magic to his fingertips, then touched the rectangle. The threads flowed into the rectangle, filling it with purple. No sooner had that happened, when eight sets of eyes appeared on Noxs body.

Dallions experience as a hunter must have made him and everyone else in his realm quite jaded when it came to monsters with unusual abilities, for no one reacted; no one except one.

Thats really cool, big bro! Lux flew over the Puma. Youre really awesome!

Dont encourage him, Lux, Dallion sighed.

But hes awesome, the firebird said apologetically. Now he can see everywhere at once and also bite anyone who gets close.

He was able to do that before as well, Dallion wanted to say.

Allowing the puma to have its fun, Dallion then pulled back his magic. All extra eyes and yaws vanished, as did the skill rectangles.

Feeling his new abilities gone, Nox snorted.

Dont worry, buddy. Ill give you your skill. Dallion scratched him behind his ears. I just need to get a hang of this and go on a bit of magic harvesting.

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