NOVEL NEXT Chapter 69: I Want It
Luca remained in his house for the rest of the day. On his way back, he realized that the city was thrown in complete disarray.
The spontaneous corruption had happened in multiple different parts of Carinthia. Whatever festive attitude had been bubbling had died down. No one was at ease anymore, and he suspected this was only a glimpse of what was actually coming.
This had happened mostly in commoner areas, so he couldn't help but think that the nobles had something to do with it, but soon after he shook his head.
Most of them didn't have the brain power, let alone the capacity, to pull off something on this scale. There was something far larger at play, and this was probably part of it. So he held off on passing judgment and focused on what he could actually do.
There were barely three more weeks until the week of the ceremony, and there were many things he still hadn't prepared.
The highest on his list was the holy sun water. First he needed to actually get a map to its location, then retreat and go back for the holy water some other day. That was what he needed Thalia and the other mages for.
Next was actually planning his advancement into the first degree. Digger's information was useful, but he would inevitably just have to stumble around in the dark again.
He had some hints as to how he would go about it, but there was more research to be done in that regard.
Lower on the list but still important was to tinker around with the Foundational Glyph like Digger suggested.
Whatever type of improvement was coming in the first degree seemed highly important, so he had to be mindful.
Below all of those but still equally important was modifying his spells and trying to complete his arsenal.
So far, he'd only had enough time to enhance his efficiency with the lightning arm, but with how quick things were moving, he would need to speed up his progress.
"Huff."
A bead of sweat trailed down his forehead. This was all starting to seem very overwhelming, but the last thing he would do was give up.
"Alright, one thing at a time."
He sat in the center of the cellar cross-legged, staring at the two parchments in front of him, as well as the mask Digger had given him.
Thalia's spells were an interesting bunch, mostly because she had next to no combat spells, but it didn't mean she was weak.
She also had a relatively small number compared to someone like him who had just become a mage weeks ago, but he had already expected something along those lines when he asked for all the information she could provide.
There were six spells on the scrolls, with only one being a combat spell. She made up for her lack in equipment, which was also listed on the scrolls just before potions.
Overall, he ignored most of the things on the scrolls and simply focused on the things that could help him personally and with his mission.
Out of the useful spells, he was familiar with the Monitoring Spirit spell, which summoned Thalia's raven familiar known as Jinx.
It was the same spell she and the others used to notice him coming from afar. That was always useful.
The second useful spell was a defense spell, which he would definitely be using. It completed his arsenal nicely.
Bulwark Shards — 0 Degree Uncategorized Spell — 2-star
Casting Catalysts: Bronze Mirror
It was a spell that allowed the user to create floating shields around the entire body. Luca wouldn't say he found it particularly impressive, since it was a spell that had no other aspects to it, but it fulfilled a function he couldn't currently.
The catalyst was also rather easy to obtain, but this only reignited his saltiness about the fact that Crowley gave him outdated spell models.
He tossed the thought to the side and moved onto the next thing.
The third and last useful spell amongst the bunch for his agenda.
Deafen — 0 Degree Uncategorized Spell — 1-star
Casting Catalysts: Hollowed bat skull, ash
It was a spell that could reduce the amount of noise coming from any area where it was cast. This one wasn't useful to Luca himself, but he'd be able to use it when going for the holy sun water later down the line.
Uncategorized spells were spells that didn't fit neatly into the other Schools. They weren't necessarily distinct, but the mages didn't know enough about the groups that these spells belonged to or how they worked.
He marked stars next to the three spells, then moved onto the potions.
As soon as he did that, a headache took over. There were dozens of ingredients and complicated procedures he didn't recognize.
"I don't think Alchemy is the path for me," he muttered.
Still, he pushed through it and identified two potions.
There was the Ghost Step potion, which gave him heightened speed for just three minutes, and the Lunar Clarity potion, which enhanced connection to the Veil when the moon was out.
The first was useful for obvious reasons, but Luca suspected the second was what she planned to use to pierce the Veil. However, it would work for him as well.
"What's good for the Duke is good for the Duchess," he muttered, turning to the final useful-looking item on the parchments.
It was an Artifact.
Name: Quicksilver Relic
Description: A silver-forged weapon core embedded with shifting glyphs. With a twist of its handle, it could change between different weapon types. A lesser masterpiece of forging and alchemical transmutation.
Abilities:
1. Bladeform – Becomes a longsword, channeling glyphs more efficiently through slashes. Physical slashing attacks are enhanced.
2. Staff Form – Extends into a staff that enhances all spell effects and reduces the casting requirements by half.
3. Bowform – Reshapes into a shortbow that fires conjured arrows of energy.
He stared at the details listed, in awe that Thalia willingly gave him this information, because there was only a single thought that crossed his mind.
A small spark of greed shone in his eyes.
"I want it."