Occult Awakening: From Commoner to Archmage

The next few hours were a blur compared to the last few. He visited Digger to pick up the remaining catalysts and to tell him about the Sky Tyrant.

Oddly, Digger did not look surprised when Luca said how close he had come to dying. The man shrugged as if he had expected it.

Erina had paid him two crowns for the risk. That left him with two crowns and a few hundred sterlings. It was more money than he had ever personally owned before.

With the cash he could afford things he had postponed.

He went to Mina to order more clothes and commissioned a shoemaker for several pairs of shoes.

Luca gave instructions for adjusting. For the coats he asked for extra pockets sewn into the lining. To Mina it looked like a strange request, but to him the pockets were used for keeping catalysts and small weapons.

He switched the materials out for a more expensive one and replaced buttons with clasps to make the coats sturdier and more flexible.

For the shoes, he asked that soles and uppers be waterproof. He ordered dress shoes, military boots and everyday casual pairs. He considered hidden compartments in the soles like in his current shoes, but decided they were not necessary.

His last stop was Old Humphrey's for more rust shavings.

Rust Hand was a useful, odd spell and he planned to study it. The vial needed the Rust glyph carved on it; the shavings inside diminished each time he used the spell.

Magic multiplied existing properties by channeling mana through the Glyphs. Mana was the channel that carried precise instructions in the universal language of the Glyphs.

Catalysts were the base materials that magic intensified. Understanding that gave him a clearer view on making spells easier to use in combat.

By the time he returned, the sun was low. He had gone out for nothing and come back with everything he had been missing.

He carried the Starmetal dust, the Shadow Raven Cloak and the Aethiopian gemstone down to the cellar and set them between the wine barrels. He sat on the cold floor and stared at the pile.

There was a lot to do, but he would not rush it. Rushing had almost cost him his life before. He had to set down a few priorities and make some plans.

The highest priority was obvious: make steady progress in magic and make casting more convenient.

Second was the cult and Pestewind. If he wanted the demon gone, he needed holy water from the church. He was not planning a simple exorcism. He intended to trap the demon so he could use its power.

Storming the church was out of the question. He had to infiltrate. To do that he needed to know where the holy water was stored.

"I have guesses, but none are easy. I will need help," he said to himself.

Bjorn and Thalia would be useful for a heist, but he was not confident they were enough. Erina might help if he nudged the Duke. If he pulled the right strings, the manor might provide cover.

He ran through the possibilities until a workable plan formed. All that remained was to identify the holy water's location.

Third on the list was the hidden advancement requirement for First Degree.

Those were his three main objectives. Saying them was easier than doing them, especially the first two.

Reworking his spells would take days. He could not seclude himself for that long again. He scheduled meetings with several nobles to keep a public face and avoid suspicion.

Finding the advancement requirement was easier now that he knew about Digger. The bar owner likely knew the answer, but Luca kept requests measured while Digger remained friendly. He would avoid asking for favors unless necessary.

He looked at the catalysts again. The Starmetal Dust glittered faintly in the cellar light. The Raven Cloak lay folded, still smelling faintly of the trees and forest. The gemstone caught the last light and held it like a trapped star.

Luca set up the small jar of rust shavings in reach.

He traced a list on a piece of psrchment and pinned it to the cellar wall with a nail. His writings were brief.

1. Improve casting

2. Locate holy water and plan infiltration

3. Discover First Degree requirement

4. Acquire more catalysts as needed

5. Learn more about physical path options.

He added the last two points after some thought. The fourth priority was the simplest , but he didn't have need for new carakysts.

As for the last, that was more of a long term goal for now. It was in the same vein as figuring out who Noctiel was and what the stranger was trying to do.

He stared at the list until his eyes hurt. Then he crossed the first line mentally and sooner or later the next items would be settled.

There were smaller things to arrange in the mean time.He would also need discrete meeting places for Thalia and Bjorn.

He thought of Erina. Out of everyone he had access to, she was the most valuable person. If he pushed the right needle she would be able to get the Duke involved in a way that helped him out when the time came.

Luca ran over the plan to approach the church in his head.

He also considered the consequences. Trapping a demon was not the same as stealing a few petty items here and there. If the plan failed, it could mean a citywide alarm that affected the rest of his plans. He had already seen the panic after the Sky Tyrant's scream. He did not want that to become any worse.

He set the catalysts in a neat line and took a deep breath.

There was definitely some work to be done here. He had to go through about four spells and browse glyphs to improve his knowledge in such a short time.

Learning and refining spells would take time, which meant he had to start now.

Time waited for no man.